Borrelia antigens

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding a protein, preferably a hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen from  Borrelia , a vector comprising such nucleic acid molecule, a host cell comprising such vector, a protein, preferably a hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen from  Borrelia , a process for producing such protein, a process for producing a cell which expresses such protein, an antibody that binds to such protein, a hybridoma cell producing such antibody, a method for producing such antibody, a pharmaceutical composition comprising such nucleic acid molecule, protein, or antibody, use of such nucleic acid molecule, protein, or antibody for the manufacture of a medicament, a method for identifying an antagonist capable of reducing or inhibiting the activity of such protein, a method for diagnosis or treatment of an infection with a pathogen causing Lyme disease or an infection with  Borrelia burgdorferi  s.l.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/440,161, filed Mar. 5, 2009, which is the U.S. National Stage of International Application No. PCT/AU2007/000439, filed Sep. 14, 2007, which claims benefit of European Application No. 06019384.4, filed Sep. 15, 2006, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to isolated nucleic acid molecules which encode a protein, isolated nucleic acid molecules which encode a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen, a vector which comprises such nucleic acid molecule, a host cell comprising such vector, a hyperimmune reactive antigen from Borrelia species, proteins which are preferably hyperimmune serum reactive antigens, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens, antigens, a process for producing such proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigens, a process for producing a cell which expresses such protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, an antibody binding to such protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, a hybridoma cell producing such antibody, methods for producing such antibody, a pharmaceutical composition comprising such nucleic acid molecule, protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen, antigen or antibody, the use of such nucleic acid molecule, protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen, antigen or antibody for the manufacture of a medicament, methods for identifying an antagonist capable of reducing or inhibiting the interaction activity of such protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, methods for diagnosing an infection and methods for the treatment of an infection. More specifically such proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigens are produced by or associated with bacterial pathogens causing Lyme disease or bacterial infections caused by Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lyme borreliosis, or Lyme disease, is the most commonly reported tick-borne disease in Europe and North America. The disease is caused by the arthropod-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (B. burgdorferi s.l.) and is a multi-systemic infection that can involve multiple organs or tissues, resulting in skin, cardiac, neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. B. burgdorferi s.l. can be divided into 12 genospecies. These 12 genospecies occur in different geographic regions, and live in nature in enzootic cycles involving ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex (also called Ixodes persulcatus complex) and a wide range of animal hosts (Table A). From these 12 genospecies at least three are pathogenic for humans: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (B. burgdorferi s.s.), B. afzelii and B. garinii. Two other genospecies, B. lusitaniae and B. valaisiana, have occasionally been detected in humans and their role in Lyme borreliosis are still uncertain.

TABLE A The B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies, their tick vectors and geographic location. Principal tick vector Location Three pathogenic species Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. Ixodes scapularis North-eastern and north central US Ixodes pacificus Western US Ixodes ricinus Europe Borrelia garinii Ixodes ricinus Europe Ixodes persulcatus Asia Borrelia afzelii Ixodes ricinus Europe Ixodes persulcatus Asia Nine minimally pathogenic or non- pathogenic species Borrelia andersonii Ixodes dentatus Eastern US Borrelia bissettii Ixodes spinipalpis Western US Ixodes pacificus Borrelia valaisiana Ixodes ricinus Europe and Asia Borrelia lusitaniae Ixodes ricinus Europe Borrelia spielmani Ixodes ricinus Europe Borrelia japonica Ixodes ovatus Japan Borrelia tanukii Ixodes tanukii Japan Borrelia turdae Ixodes turdus Japan Borrelia sinica Ixodes persulcatus China

Lyme borreliosis was described as a new clinical entity in 1976. Allen C. Steere investigated a group of people with rashes and swollen joints in Old Lyme, Conn., and misdiagnosed Lyme borreliosis as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (Steere et al., 1977). The disease has, however, been known in Europe under a variety of names since the 1880's. In the year 1883, Buchwald described a chronic skin change, which received the name acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA). In the year 1910 the Swedish physician Afzelius discovered a circularly moving red rash after an insect or tick bite, which received the name erythema migrans (EM). Neurological symptoms after a tick bite were described 1922 by the French researchers Garin and Bujadoux. In 1951 the Swedish clinician Hollstrom to successfully treated patients with EM with penicillin and in 1984 Borrelia cells were observed in skin biopsies taken from an EM lesion. It was suggested that EM in association with meningitis probably was the result of an infection by a tick-borne or an insect-borne bacterium. The causative agent of Lyme borreliosis was finally discovered 1982 by W. Burgdorfer and colleagues, who isolated a previously unidentified spirochetal bacterium from the hard tick Ixodes scapularis that was later named Borrelia burgdorferi (Burgdorfer et al., 1982).

Epidemiology of Lyme Borreliosis

Lyme borreliosis is the most common tick-borne zoonosis in Europe and North America. While in most countries it is not a notifiable disease, no exact data are available how many new cases there are per year. In the United States the causative agent is B. burgdorferi s.s. and Lyme borreliosis is localized in north-eastern, mid-Atlantic and upper north-central states. In 2002, a total of 23,763 cases of Lyme borreliosis were reported to CDC, yielding a national incidence of 8.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (Lyme Disease Surveillance in Morbidity Mortality Weekly Reports, 2004). B. afzelii and B. garinii are the main causative agents of Lyme borreliosis in Europe together with B. burgdorferi s.s. which contributes to a lesser extent dependent on the geographic location. In Europe the incidence of Lyme borreliosis differs between countries. The average incidence of Lyme borreliosis in Eastern Germany was 17.8 cases per 100,000 population in 2002 and increased by 31% to 23.3 cases in 2003, respectively. In Austria, the incidence of Lyme borreliosis is much higher with 130 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (Report of WHO workshop on Lyme borreliosis and Diagnosis and surveillance, Warsaw, Poland, 20-22 June, 1995).

In some risk groups, such as farmers, forestry workers, hikers, runners or vacationers, seroprevalence and disease incidence rates have increased, as in children under 15 and adults between 39 and 59, without gender preference. The prevalence of Lyme borreliosis varies considerably in different European countries with an overall increased prevalence from west to east. The high incidence of Lyme disease is linked with changes in the forest habitats as well as social factors. An environmental change such as forest fragmentation has led to a loss of rodent predators such as wolves and birds of prey which in turn has led to an increase in the mouse population and automatically to an increase in the tick population. More recently patchy reforestation has increased the numbers of deer and thus the numbers of ticks. Middle class suburban sprawl and the increasing use of these woodland areas for recreation such as camping and hiking has brought humans into greater contact with the larger number of infected ticks. All these parameters contribute to a wider distribution of Lyme borreliosis.

Etiological Agent of Lyme Borreliosis

B. burgdorferi s.l. belongs to the family Spirochaetaceae, which is subdivided into the medically important genera Treponema, Leptospira and Borrelia. B. burgdorferi s.l. is a spiral shaped (10-20 μm long and 0.2-0.5 μm wide), vigorously motile, gram negative bacterium that grows under microaerophilic conditions. The spirochetal cell wall consists of a cytoplasmic membrane surrounded by peptidoglycan and flagella and then by a loosely associated outer membrane. The borrelial genome is perhaps the most structurally complex among bacteria and consists of one linear chromosome and a varying number of both linear and circular plasmids (Xu et al., 1995).

In 1997 the genome of B. burgdorferi s.s. strain B31 was completely sequenced by TIGR (Fraser et al., 1997), and the following analysis showed that the 1.5 Mb genome sequence is encoded in a single chromosome plus a highly dynamic complement of 12 linear and 9 circular plasmids (Casjens et al., 2000). The genomic sequence of the B. garinii strain PBi was published in 2004 (Glockner et al., 2004). They were only able to assemble two plasmids completely, the remaining plasmids sequence are left as variable plasmid sequences, indicating the complexity and the high content of repetitive sequences. There is a 92% nucleotide sequence identity between the genomes from B. burgdorferi s.s. strain B31 and B. garinii strain PBi, the sequences of the plasmids are more divergent.

About 90% of the chromosomal genomes comprises coding regions and most of the encoded genes are homologous to genes of known function. They code for proteins involved in DNA replication, transcription and translation; the repair system and recombination; transport, nutrient uptake and energy metabolism; motility and chemotaxis and the regulation of gene to expression. Genes related with pathogenicity are primarily located on the extra-chromosomal genome. The genes coding for the synthesis of amino acids, fatty acids, cofactors and nucleotides are absent from the borrelial genome. Therefore Borrelia require a complex medium supplemented with serum, such as BSK-II medium, for growth in vitro.

Clinical Manifestations of Lyme Borreliosis

Lyme borreliosis generally occurs in stages, with remission and exacerbations with different clinical manifestation at each stage (Steere, 1989). Early infection stage 1 consists of localized infection of the skin, followed within days or weeks by stage 2, disseminated infection, and months to years later by stage 3, persistent infection. However, the infection is variable; some patients have only localized infections of the skin, while others display only later manifestations of the illness, such as arthritis. Different clinical syndromes of Lyme borreliosis are also caused by infection with diverse B. burgdorferi s.l. species. B. burgdorferi s.s. more often causes joint manifestations (arthritis) and heart problems, B. afzelii causes mainly dermal symptoms (EM and ACA), and B. garinii is mostly responsible for neuroborreliosis.

Localized infection—The most common symptom of stage 1 of an infection is erythema migrans, which occurs in 70-80% of infected people. This skin lesion is often followed by flu-like symptoms, such as myalgia, arthralgia, headache and fever. These non-specific symptoms occur in 50% of patients with erythema migrans.

Disseminated infection—During stage 2 the bacteria move into the blood stream from the site of infection and to more distant tissues and organs. Neurological, cardiovascular and arthritic symptoms that occur in this stage include meningitis, cranial neuropathy and intermittent inflammatory arthritis.

Persistent infection—Stage 3 of the infection is chronic and occurs from months to years after the tick bite. The most common symptom in North America is rheumatoid arthritis, caused by an infection with B. burgdorferi s.s. Persistent infection of the central nervous system with B. garinii causes more severe neurological symptoms during stage 3, and a persistent infection to of the skin with B. afzelii results in acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans.

Diagnosis and Treatment

The best parameter for diagnosis of early Lyme borreliosis is the characteristic expanding red skin lesion or EM. Unfortunately, 30 percent of patients do not develop this rash, and the usual symptoms of early disease, such as fatigue, fever, or headache, are too non-specific to be diagnostic. Lyme borreliosis in a symptomatic patient can be diagnosed using a variety of serological tests, and the most common diagnostic test is indirect ELISA testing for Lyme specific antibodies in serum.

Antimicrobial agents are the principle method of treatment of Lyme borreliosis infection. The antibiotic used depends on the stage of the disease, symptoms, and the patient's allergies to medication. The length of the antibiotics course also depends on the stage of the disease and severity of symptoms. Early Lyme borreliosis is typically treated with oral tetracyclines, such as doxycycline, and semi-synthetic penicillins, such as amoxicillin or penicillin V. Arthritic and neurological disorders are treated with high-dose intravenous penicillin G or ceftriaxone.

Prevention

The number of cases of Lyme borreliosis steadily increases, as a result of changed ecological conditions. In addition, the difficulty of prevention indicates that the incidence will continue to be a public health concern. Landscape modifications, protective clothing, tick checks or personals protection measures are helpful but not enough, therefore is a vaccine against Lyme borreliosis desirable.

A vaccine can contain a whole variety of different antigens. Examples of antigens are whole-killed or attenuated organisms, subfractions of these organisms/tissues, proteins, or, in their most simple form, peptides. Antigens can also be recognized by the immune system in form of glycosylated proteins or peptides and may also be or contain polysaccharides or lipids. Short peptides can be used since for example cytotoxic T-cells (CTL) recognize antigens in form of short usually 8-11 amino acids long peptides in conjunction with major to histocompatibility complex (MHC). B-cells can recognize linear epitopes as short as 4-5 amino acids, as well as three-dimensional structures (conformational epitopes). In order to obtain sustained, antigen-specific immune responses, adjuvants need to trigger immune cascades that involve all cells of the immune system. Primarily, adjuvants are acting, but are not restricted in their mode of action, on so-called antigen presenting cells (APCs). These cells usually first encounter the antigen(s) followed by presentation of processed or unmodified antigen to immune effector cells. Intermediate cell types may also be involved. Only effector cells with the appropriate specificity are activated in a productive immune response. The adjuvant may also locally retain antigens and co-injected other factors. In addition the adjuvant may act as a chemoattractant for other immune cells or may act locally and/or systemically as a stimulating agent for the immune system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There have been concerns to develop an inactivated whole cell vaccine for humans, because of the potential risk that it may induce cross-reactive antibodies to human antigens. Therefore, subunit vaccines are considered to have the greatest potential in preventing Lyme borreliosis.

Recently, the development of a subunit vaccine to prevent Lyme borreliosis has mainly focused on the outer surface protein A (OspA). The lipidated form of OspA from B. burgdorferi s.s. strain ZS7 together with aluminium hydroxide was commercially developed as LYMErix™ by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for the US market. OspA is mainly expressed in the gut of the tick and human immune responses to Borrelia do not usually include humoral or cellular adaptive immunity directed against OspA. Thus, these OspA antibodies produced by vaccination are not used to fight infection in the body. Instead, the antibodies enter the gut of the tick when it takes a blood meal. There, they neutralise the spirochetes and block migration from the midgut to the salivary glands that allows B. burgdorferi s.l. to enter the vertebrate host. Thus, the vaccine prevents transmission of the spirochete from the tick to the human host. Three doses of LYMErix™ were needed for optimal protection in the period of one year, and after the first two doses vaccine efficacy against Lyme borreliosis was 49%, and after the third dose 76%. However, shortly after LYMErix™ was commercially available, it was withdrawn from the market in 2002. Some of the reasons are the need for booster injections every year or every other year, relatively high cost of this preventive approach compared with antibiotic treatment of early infection. In addition, there was a theoretical and never proven concern that LYMErix™ could cause autoimmune reactions in a subgroup of the population.

The problem underlying the present invention was to provide means for the development of medicaments such as vaccines against bacterial pathogens causing Lyme borreliosis. More particularly, the problem was to provide an efficient, relevant and comprehensive set of nucleic acid molecules, proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigens from B. burgdorferi s.l. that can be used for the manufacture of said medicaments. A still further problem was to provide methods and means for producing a protein, an hyperimmune reactive antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, for identifying an antagonist capable of reducing or inhibiting the interaction activity of such protein, hyperimmune reactive antigen or antigen with an interaction partner thereof and preferably an antibody directed thereagainst, for treating infections, for immunizing an animal or man.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a first aspect by an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding a protein, preferably a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen, or a fragment thereof, comprising a nucleic acid sequence, which is selected from the group consisting of:

-   -   a) a nucleic acid molecule having at least 70% sequence identity         to a nucleic acid molecule having a nucleotide sequence selected         from the group comprising Seq ID Nos 1 to 134,     -   b) a nucleic acid molecule which is complementary to the nucleic         acid molecule of a),     -   c) a nucleic acid molecule comprising at least 15 sequential         bases of the nucleic acid molecule of a) or b),     -   d) a nucleic acid molecule which anneals under stringent         hybridisation conditions to the nucleic acid molecule of a), b),         or c),     -   e) a nucleic acid molecule which, but for the degeneracy of the         genetic code, would hybridise to the nucleic acid molecule         defined in a), b), c) or d).

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a second aspect by an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen, or a fragment thereof, comprising a nucleic acid sequence, which is selected from the group consisting of:

-   -   a) a nucleic acid molecule having at least 70% sequence identity         to a nucleic acid molecule having a nucleotide sequence selected         from the group comprising Seq ID Nos 269 to 387 and 507 to 628,     -   b) a nucleic acid molecule which is complementary to the nucleic         acid molecule of a),     -   c) a nucleic acid molecule comprising at least 15 sequential         bases of the nucleic acid molecule of a) or b),     -   d) a nucleic acid molecule which anneals under stringent         hybridisation conditions to the nucleic acid molecule of a), b),         or c),     -   e) a nucleic acid molecule which, but for the degeneracy of the         genetic code, would hybridise to the nucleic acid molecule         defined in a), b), c) or d).

In an embodiment of the first and the second aspect the sequence identity is at least 70%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95% or 100%.

In an embodiment of the first and the second aspect the nucleic acid is DNA.

In an alternative embodiment of the first and the second aspect the nucleic acid is RNA.

In an embodiment of the first and the second aspect the nucleic acid molecule is isolated from to a genomic DNA, preferably from a species selected from the group comprising Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae and Borrelia sinica, and more preferably from Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii genomic DNA.

In an embodiment of the first and the second aspect the fragment is a functional or an active fragment or an active variant thereof.

In an embodiment of the first and the second aspect the protein or the hyperimmune serum reactive antigen, or fragment thereof, is or consists of an antigen from Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae or Borrelia sinica, preferably from Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a third aspect by a vector comprising a nucleic acid molecule according to the first or the second aspect.

In an embodiment of the third aspect the vector is adapted for recombinant expression of a protein, preferably the protein or the hyperimmune serum reactive antigen, or a fragment thereof, encoded by the nucleic acid molecule as defined in the first or the second aspect.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a fourth aspect by a host cell comprising the vector as defined in the third aspect.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a fifth aspect by a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen from Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii that is immunologically reactive with sera from a human having a Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. infection, a Borrelia afzelii infection or a Borrelia garinii infection, or an uninfected healthy human, whereby the hyperimmune serum reactive antigen comprises an isolated peptide from Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii, or a peptide fragment thereof.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a sixth aspect by a protein, preferably a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen, having an amino acid sequence selected from the group comprising Seq ID Nos 135 to 268, or an active fragment or an active variant thereof.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a seventh aspect by a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen having an amino acid sequence selected from the group comprising Seq ID Nos 388 to 506 and 629 to 750, or an active fragment or an active variant thereof.

In an embodiment of the sixth aspect the protein is encoded by a nucleic acid molecule as defined in the first aspect.

In an embodiment of the seventh aspect the antigen is encoded by a nucleic acid molecule as defined in the second aspect.

In an embodiment of the sixth and the seventh aspect the protein or the antigen is or consists of an antigen from Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii.

In an embodiment of the sixth and seventh aspect the active fragment thereof consists of at least 60%, preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, still more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 95%, most preferably 99% of the protein or the hyperimmune serum reactive antigen as defined in the sixth and the seventh aspect and more specifically of the protein or hyperimmune serum reactive antigen of any of Seq ID Nos 135 to 268, 388 to 506 or 629 to 750.

In an embodiment of the sixth and seventh aspect the active variant thereof has at least 50% sequence identity to the hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or the protein, especially at least 60%, preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, still more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 95%, most preferably 99% sequence identity to said hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or protein as defined in the sixth and the seventh aspect and more specifically to the protein or the hyperimmune serum reactive antigen of any of Seq ID Nos 135 to 268, 388 to 506 or 629 to 750.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in an eighth aspect by an antigen, whereby the antigen comprises a core amino acid sequence as indicated in column “Predicted immunogenic aa” and “Location of identified immunogenic region” of Table 1, as indicated in column “aa (start-stop)” of Table 5, as defined by columns “From aa” and “To aa” of Table 6, or as defined by column “Amino acid From-To” of Table 8, whereby more preferably such antigen comprises a core amino acid sequence as follows: amino acids 6-20, 25-51, 58-83, 94-105, 111-122, 127-135, 141-155, 162-173, 179-186, 188-207, 213-226, 230-248, 253-265, 269-282, 285-291, 367-378, 384-393, 401-425, 453-464, 471-477, 504-514, 519-527, 532-555, 557-572, 584-598, 609-616, 624-630, 638-645, 648-653, 128-169, 257-336, 339-379 and 91-415 of Seq ID No 135; amino acids 23-31, 47-53, 57-64, 74-89, 91-106, 127-132, 137-144, 152-157, 164-169, 186-192, 201-206, 208-217, 223-235 and 180-189 of Seq ID No 136; amino acids 4-32, 43-52, 54-66, 78-88, 91-122, 124-131, 144-150, 153-159, 161-178, 183-191, 195-201, 205-215, 236-252, 258-263, 276-284, 288-294, 302-312 and 159-213 of Seq ID No 137; amino acids 8-23, 30-35, 44-54, 65-73, 77-83, 89-110, 117-129, 132-137, 156-165, 169-175, 189-199, 225-237 and 229-267 of Seq ID No 138; amino acids 5-31, 40-50, 52-58, 64-72, 112-118, 137-142, 170-175, 179-185, 192-201, 299-305 and 138-187 of Seq ID No 139; amino acids 11-18, 23-47, 113-119, 131-137, 143-149, 197-203, 215-222, 247-256, 264-290, 298-303, 311-358, 368-401, 403-409 and 97-177 of Seq ID No 140; amino acids 5-20, 27-32, 34-40, 43-64, 66-72, 78-85, 91-97, 104-110, 118-141 and 94-119 of Seq ID No 141; amino acids 5-22, 25-32, 39-45, 51-58, 60-104, 106-114, 129-155, 160-166, 174-182, 195-204, 207-213, 223-239, 243-250, 257-267, 270-276, 279-285, 293-302, 304-317, 328-335, 360-372, 374-382, 386-397, 404-418, 429-438, 441-447, 450-460, 467-472, 480-497, 501-507, 515-521, 562-572 and 195-228 of Seq ID No 142; amino acids 4-10, 31-42, 44-59, 65-72, 75-115, 119-127, 146-155, 181-188, 198-207, 213-219, 228-244, 254-264, 269-293, 295-310, 313-321, 323-336, 350-369, 380-389 and 165-214 of Seq ID No 143; amino acids 11-25, 27-45, 66-73, 75-85, 104-113, 126-135, 143-154, 160-166, 178-185, 201-215, 231-245, 254-261, 266-296, 298-306, 308-332, 339-344, 360-370, 385-391, 412-419, 449-457, 461-469, 472-478, 495-505, 511-518 and 350-451 of Seq ID No 144; amino acids 14-35, 64-72, 81-87, 90-99, 110-116, 137-152, 158-166, 171-178, 207-216, 225-232, 239-250, 264-271, 276-286, 316-323, 325-343, 350-356, 393-407, 416-422, 440-445, 448-453, 469-475, 497-506, 509-529, 537-543, 586-592, 603-610, 41-107 and 528-596 of Seq ID No 145; amino acids 56-62, 83-96, 161-167, 170-179, 184-197, 205-214, 235-243, 285-296, 302-308, 324-333 and 18-315 of Seq ID No 146; amino acids 4-11, 35-41, 57-65, 82-88, 99-115, 118-124, 126-134, 146-151, 159-167, 174-180, 187-192, 195-206, 216-222, 237-247, 261-269, 295-304, 327-334, 341-347, 363-374, 382-388, 398-404, 410-424, 430-436, 441-448, 451-461, 473-484, 493-507, 509-522, 528-536, 544-550, 566-573, 588-604, 608-614, 22-75, 110-148 and 344-404 of Seq ID No 147; amino acids 4-14, 21-28, 32-38, 59-71, 84-106, 110-120, 127-140, 146-167, 184-190, 197-203, 223-232, 249-278, 280-292, 309-324, 342-355, 367-374, 377-384 and 264-328 of Seq ID No 148; amino acids 13-18, 47-55, 65-75, 132-138, 140-146, 149-155, 157-168, 218-227, 241-248, 275-281, 283-289, 306-315, 329-336, 352-360, 372-378, 388-394, 396-404, 411-416, 424-429, 445-455, 479-491, 494-500, 571-578, 583-588, 600-621, 6-65, 68-112, 261-352 and 449-507 of Seq ID No 149; amino acids 10-34, 36-42, 46-55, 58-64, 79-86, 99-122, 125-135, 165-184, 200-209, 215-226, 232-238 and 79-89 of Seq ID No 150; amino acids 4-34, 38-62, 64-78, 87-99, 101-109, 113-125, 128-156, 166-184, 186-193, 196-203, 205-215, 220-226, 236-260, 262-269, 271-288, 296-302, 325-333, 339-350 and 111-138 of Seq ID No 151; amino acids 8-23, 25-33, 57-68, 102-113, 194-199, 236-241, 269-296, 326-333, 339-348, 352-360, 364-369, 378-393, 422-430, 434-447, 476-484, 488-501, 530-538, 542-555, 585-592, 596-609, 638-646, 650-663, 692-699, 706-716, 726-745, 765-771, 792-798, 809-815, 825-835, 862-868, 878-885, 893-902, 911-922, 927-937, 947-953, 962-970, 978-985, 1011-1017, 1027-1034, 1045-1052, 102-177, 285-364, 937-983, 27-246 and 701-1067 of Seq ID No 152; amino acids 4-20, 36-45, 62-69, 73-83, 95-112, 153-166, 178-185, 194-205, 215-223, 238-247 and 80-159 of Seq ID No 153; amino acids 82-95, 107-122, 153-158, 165-171, 178-196, 202-210, 216-222, 270-280, 312-318, 336-341, 381-389 and 245-299 of Seq ID No 154; amino acids 4-23, 45-57, 68-81, 91-104, 118-131, 134-144, 160-166, 172-189, 191-202, 204-217, 228-236, 261-268, 273-285, 287-294, 307-316, 328-343, 350-356, 381-418, 420-429, 440-452, 458-465, 497-504, 528-538, 546-556, 567-574, 580-601, 605-624, 628-639, 647-653 and 126-200 of Seq ID No 155; amino acids 4-19, 24-30, 32-48, 53-80, 89-97, 102-109, 136-142, 145-153, 156-164, 177-187, 192-209, 215-221, 238-243, 15-146 and 21-257 of Seq ID No 156; amino acids 5-13, 70-79, 91-97, 123-129, 155-162, 173-189, 199-224, 232-238, 255-261, 265-283, 290-301, 306-311, 314-320, 336-344, 351-358, 395-409, 412-418, 430-439, 35-109 and 187-298 of Seq ID No 157; amino acids 13-31, 36-47, 80-96, 98-107, 144-149, 187-193, 215-220, 235-251, 291-300, 306-326, 328-338, 340-358, 364-380, 408-426, 434-441 and 220-288 of Seq ID No 158; amino acids 4-24, 36-43, 70-81, 89-100, 109-120, 127-132, 141-158, 165-178, 183-191, 193-202, 208-215 and 31-89 of Seq ID No 159; amino acids 6-25, 44-49, 95-105, 136-144, 199-215, 236-241, 256-262, 280-287, 306-320, 326-334, 346-354, 364-376, 83-172 and 272-327 of Seq ID No 160; amino acids 4-21, 27-44, 85-92, 100-107, 112-118, 142-149, 161-190, 216-222, 231-238, 258-310, 317-323, 334-344, 352-359, 367-373, 380-387, 394-400, 429-441, 485-500, 20-79 and 404-526 of Seq ID No 161; amino acids 12-28, 38-58, 61-75, 98-116, 121-127, 133-142, 169-199, 213-221, 236-241, 243-250, 254-260, 269-281, 284-301, 313-319, 352-358, 362-368, 391-397, 436-448, 455-463, 485-496, 498-511, 523-533, 40-97, 251-297 and 420-488 of Seq ID No 162; amino acids 8-15, 24-41, 50-79, 86-91, 109-141, 143-156, 166-171, 204-212, 235-243, 245-267, 291-311, 328-336, 344-360, 377-388, 390-396 and 258-336 of Seq ID No 163; amino acids 4-15, 22-38, 46-53, 72-82, 99-119, 131-139, 148-154, 179-184, 187-195, 203-209, 212-219, 223-231, 242-249, 257-263, 269-277, 282-288, 310-315, 346-353, 371-377, 388-395, 400-421, 427-438, 445-451 and 458-472 of Seq ID No 164; amino acids 5-29, 37-117, 128-134, 138-144, 146-161, 172-178, 193-219, 221-231, 234-240, 242-261, 263-274, 297-302, 306-322, 339-345, 356-365, 371-383, 402-413, 416-424, 432-443, 447-456, 461-466, 471-524, 532-593 and 197-284 of Seq ID No 165; amino acids 5-29, 54-69, 72-88, 99-112, 128-138, 150-165, 167-174, 181-187, 205-226, 246-253, 273-279, 285-291, 293-311, 313-323, 329-334, 338-350, 356-363, 366-372, 388-394, 397-404, 417-423, 437-445, 453-473 and 378-461 of Seq ID No 166; amino acids 38-45, 67-82, 90-96, 101-108, 113-120, 128-143, 160-173, 190-200, 206-218, 226-237, 244-252, 256-271, 276-285, 298-309, 319-325, 332-350, 355-363, 379-388, 395-404, 412-419, 427-433, 442-455, 82-127 and 212-253 of Seq ID No 167; amino acids 10-28, 37-50, 58-66, 72-91, 101-119, 124-131, 133-149, 152-170, 177-186, 198-204, 225-244, 249-256, 260-266, 269-286, 298-303, 306-312, 329-338, 342-348 and 26-73 of Seq ID No 168; amino acids 10-18, 45-51, 58-87, 95-139, 175-182, 184-194, 228-237, 239-245, 255-261, 269-282, 289-295, 301-308, 310-319, 333-374, 376-383, 394-447, 455-464, 485-503, 519-526, 532-542, 551-557, 571-604, 608-614, 616-623, 654-660, 682-687, 717-724, 729-736, 759-775, 800-806, 817-823, 829-838, 840-864, 877-887, 900-906, 943-951, 959-978, 981-994, 996-1012, 1016-1032, 1035-1046, 1049-1056, 1078-1109, 1117-1124, 1137-1143, 1158-1167, 1179-1199, 1201-1207, 1215-1245, 1250-1256, 1262-1268, 1270-1281, 1298-1310, 1314-1323, 1326-1333, 1347-1357, 1364-1372 and 1053-1082 of Seq ID No 169; amino acids 4-9, 15-27, 29-37, 50-59, 65-73, 94-107, 138-168, 179-187, 191-203, 230-237, 254-260, 267-274, 279-294, 312-328, 355-361, 368-375, 378-388, 405-415, 441-457, 459-467, 469-476, 496-506, 508-514, 521-531, 538-549, 554-561, 566-574, 582-591, 604-625, 640-653, 657-671, 674-689, 698-705, 713-723, 746-756, 763-771, 777-789, 801-809, 822-839, 847-854, 865-872, 877-883, 889-906, 922-940, 943-953, 963-984, 1004-1010, 1021-1037, 1045-1057, 1070-1089, 1096-1115, 1117-1123, 1127-1135 and 194-292 of Seq ID No 170; amino acids 10-30, 38-51, 74-81, 86-96, 116-148, 161-167, 202-208, 211-217, 239-261, 283-295, 298-310, 322-328, 335-346 and 44-99 of Seq ID No 171; amino acids 9-23, 31-42, 50-60, 68-74, 85-92, 98-106, 108-117, 135-142, 144-150, 155-172, 174-191, 193-206, 208-215, 223-233, 237-245, 252-267, 274-296, 308-316, 324-341, 375-385, 394-402, 419-440, 446-452, 493-499, 514-520, 537-546, 570-579, 582-588, 591-603, 609-618, 620-628, 640-687, 700-706, 714-742, 765-774, 794-805, 809-825, 827-838, 847-857, 860-867, 875-888, 897-907, 917-926, 937-942, 950-971, 975-981, 989-999, 1016-1052, 1054-1071, 1089-1105, 1108-1130, 1142-1160, 1166-1178, 1184-1197, 1199-1207, 1216-1222, 1232-1247, 1249-1254, 1262-1283, 1291-1300, 1308-1332, 1343-1356, 1363-1368, 1384-1398, 1401-1410, 1423-1434, 1443-1464, 1478-1484 and 1229-1275 of Seq ID No 172; amino acids 5-15, 21-35, 42-51, 55-60, 73-80, 87-94, 103-110, 134-146, 157-168, 174-188, 190-201, 209-223, 250-257, 110-131 and 179-236 of Seq ID No 173; amino acids 10-24, 30-48, 52-66, 90-100, 111-137, 153-162, 166-175, 184-190, 193-206, 226-232, 238-248, 250-260, 267-273, 322-333, 349-382, 402-413, 421-428, 443-451, 470-480, 487-498, 508-518, 526-539, 544-549, 568-574, 607-623, 631-636 and 372-434 of Seq ID No 174; amino acids 20-28, 33-38, 45-77, 91-110, 124-130, 137-162, 164-170, 175-183, 185-205, 207-217, 235-240, 254-269, 291-296, 319-326, 342-354, 374-381, 397-403, 424-434, 442-455, 469-484, 494-501, 513-522, 529-534, 546-556, 558-564 and 439-464 of Seq ID No 175; amino acids 4-13, 15-21, 24-32, 40-45, 47-65, 75-110, 114-123, 133-142, 144-159, 164-171, 187-215 and 12-77 of Seq ID No 176; amino acids 4-9, 25-44, 49-60, 72-82, 87-105, 125-138, 142-155, 171-179, 183-197, 205-225, 232-244, 256-270, 278-285, 287-293, 310-333, 339-345, 350-366, 368-378, 381-392, 397-404, 408-418 and 281-316 of Seq ID No 177; amino acids 28-35, 95-116, 138-146, 150-158, 174-203 and 33-78 of Seq ID No 178; amino acids 4-23, 31-43, 58-64, 68-83, 93-103, 121-135, 143-156, 181-187, 227-238, 251-264, 292-298, 309-317, 326-333, 351-357, 359-365, 387-395, 400-407, 431-437, 451-460, 462-471, 496-508, 519-526, 534-540, 568-573, 608-618, 620-627, 650-657, 673-679, 690-702, 705-714, 728-734, 738-745, 758-764, 776-782, 795-810, 830-839, 882-904, 911-926, 938-944, 962-969, 975-984, 999-1007, 1019-1025, 1072-1090, 1099-1111, 1172-1178, 1232-1241, 1245-1252, 1257-1266, 1283-1288, 1305-1311, 1370-1377, 1392-1398, 1412-1417, 1422-1434, 1448-1458, 1479-1487, 1529-1534, 1570-1576, 1582-1590, 1615-1622, 1630-1645, 1659-1668, 1700-1708, 1730-1736, 1756-1762, 1765-1776, 1798-1803, 1805-1819, 1831-1837, 1872-1882, 1926-1936, 1946-1952, 1955-1961, 1968-1980, 1995-2002, 2035-2045, 2048-2056, 2076-2083, 2099-2107, 2122-2128, 2146-2156, 718-788 and 399-870 of Seq ID No 179; amino acids 12-19, 22-29, 37-43, 48-56, 79-90, 114-119, 136-147, 162-172, 174-180, 186-194, 200-213, 232-238, 275-282, 288-297, 303-319, 329-338, 341-351, 363-371, 383-397, 416-423, 430-438, 454-472, 476-483, 536-542, 576-581, 626-632, 66-161 and 494-576 of Seq ID No 180; amino acids 29-35, 48-56, 82-89, 106-112, 118-126, 144-149, 157-173, 175-184 and 1-52 of Seq ID No 181; amino acids 14-36, 48-54, 79-85, 149-159, 171-182, 189-205, 211-217 and 171-240 of Seq ID No 182; amino acids 9-23, 30-40, 56-70, 75-80, 97-103, 111-117, 130-135, 139-145, 149-160, 250-256, 276-286, 309-315, 326-331, 364-376, 385-391, 400-412, 429-434, 446-462, 472-498 and 363-430 of Seq ID No 183; amino acids 4-28, 44-60, 73-81, 88-94, 102-108, 119-127, 145-170, 201-208, 220-227, 229-239, 291-297, 306-323, 327-335, 342-369, 372-394, 414-420, 427-445, 456-462, 471-478, 494-503, 505-510, 536-542, 549-567, 585-594, 614-627 and 215-283 of Seq ID No 184; amino acids 4-10, 27-33, 40-48, 64-70, 82-96, 108-115, 123-131, 171-176, 182-204 and 151-160 of Seq ID No 185; amino acids 4-15, 19-36, 39-47, 51-57, 62-69, 77-84, 91-97, 103-112, 117-136, 148-168, 189-195, 204-211, 213-228, 234-243, 268-274, 280-289, 294-308, 314-335, 341-349, 354-375, 382-392, 394-405, 419-424, 430-435, 442-469, 479-489, 500-507, 510-516, 523-534, 536-545, 560-579, 586-592, 614-620, 639-649, 652-663, 665-702, 704-710, 727-732, 743-755, 761-781, 799-805, 810-816, 842-851, 885-891, 904-912, 924-931, 933-946, 948-973, 980-988, 990-1007, 1017-1023, 1027-1035, 1046-1055, 1063-1074, 1086-1091, 1095-1102, 1116-1122, 1149-1158 and 458-497 of Seq ID No 186; amino acids 4-23, 26-32, 50-56, 72-85, 87-104, 106-113, 116-151, 159-174, 176-184, 187-194, 199-206, 211-232, 242-261, 91-170 and 22-264 of Seq ID No 187; amino acids 4-24, 53-58, 65-72, 84-96, 106-113, 115-125, 149-154, 176-191, 215-222, 239-244, 267-275, 278-304, 323-340, 345-351, 416-424, 449-455, 473-483, 523-537, 540-556, 564-583, 605-616, 36-119 and 343-394 of Seq ID No 188; amino acids 11-27, 45-52, 60-74, 96-102, 123-136, 140-155, 167-189, 194-201, 209-230, 254-261, 264-284, 289-294, 297-305, 319-325, 338-343, 349-361, 363-377, 381-388, 396-409, 413-422, 435-441, 455-469 and 342-386 of Seq ID No 189; amino acids 9-45, 47-54, 72-78, 81-96, 111-118, 123-130, 133-143, 148-154, 157-182, 202-215, 241-255, 290-311, 316-334, 340-346, 349-356, 366-385, 387-400, 403-411 and 156-286 of Seq ID No 190; amino acids 26-45, 62-70, 84-121, 129-138, 146-168, 182-188, 197-207, 213-220, 222-229, 246-257, 277-283, 304-314, 328-336, 348-371, 375-385, 388-396, 409-421, 429-438, 451-459, 465-485, 501-528, 530-536, 555-581, 589-594, 607-614, 620-626, 628-634, 637-643, 650-658, 665-671, 680-691, 703-709, 721-742, 746-758, 761-767, 772-777, 784-790, 796-810 and 747-795 of Seq ID No 191; amino acids 4-11, 15-37, 52-66, 79-90, 96-106, 110-118, 124-137, 152-160, 162-171, 174-182, 200-209, 215-222, 227-242, 248-264, 284-308, 325-340, 362-369, 390-418, 420-426, 440-454, 463-471, 478-485, 490-512, 517-532, 539-545, 570-583, 591-605, 621-630, 643-652, 655-665, 684-694, 75-223 and 285-348 of Seq ID No 192; amino acids 8-18, 25-57, 93-107, 121-128, 135-141, 159-176, 183-191, 202-223, 229-236, 298-304, 332-340, 359-368, 384-393, 410-426, 434-439, 444-449, 476-491, 502-508, 511-523, 525-533, 548-554 and 390-409 of Seq ID No 193; amino acids 13-31, 35-41, 50-58, 70-81, 91-100, 120-128, 143-149, 185-191, 196-203, 213-239, 241-251, 256-277, 289-303, 305-316, 364-388, 394-403, 406-412, 417-426, 440-446, 462-469, 494-502, 504-522 and 6-100 of Seq ID No 194; amino acids 7-14, 30-36, 43-52, 54-65, 71-85, 95-101, 113-119, 121-127, 153-170, 179-188, 191-200, 204-210, 214-222, 227-233, 244-250 and 168-223 of Seq ID No 195; amino acids 14-21, 25-39, 54-64, 74-99, 102-129, 139-153, 159-166, 188-206, 214-220, 236-243, 245-255, 262-269, 276-295, 300-309, 315-321, 324-331 and 12-84 of Seq ID No 196; amino acids 4-13, 26-33, 35-49, 55-68, 74-82, 96-114, 116-148, 150-161, 229-235, 237-254, 257-266, 280-286, 305-312, 320-337, 343-356, 373-382, 384-427, 433-439 and 50-64 of Seq ID No 197; amino acids 4-46, 53-78, 103-113, 117-122, 144-149, 168-174, 176-183, 193-200, 207-238, 252-259, 271-277, 279-307, 315-326, 330-391, 412-423, 425-464, 472-478, 508-526, 531-542, 551-560, 562-576, 584-593, 602-608, 616-637, 658-666, 714-719, 721-730, 28-73, 292-344, 531-608 and 391-753 of Seq ID No 198; amino acids 4-21, 26-33, 69-78, 80-93, 109-125, 127-134, 137-146, 154-160, 162-169, 173-182, 189-199, 210-220, 224-242, 246-278, 284-290, 294-308 and 223-272 of Seq ID No 199; amino acids 10-30, 33-42, 46-62, 64-70, 82-97, 112-122, 124-130, 138-145, 148-165, 167-178, 186-192, 196-209, 213-218, 241-249, 258-276, 279-288, 291-299, 302-307, 315-337, 344-349, 360-376, 390-402, 409-415, 417-428, 452-468, 475-484, 486-492 and 180-232 of Seq ID No 200; amino acids 17-24, 32-43, 49-55, 62-69, 78-92, 97-118, 132-139, 148-154, 173-179, 181-189, 191-210 and 117-131 of Seq ID No 201; amino acids 4-18, 35-44, 54-67, 77-85, 92-101, 106-119, 131-144, 146-164, 171-177, 182-191, 203-218, 282-288, 297-310, 343-359, 361-367, 400-405, 433-439, 454-462, 483-492, 496-504, 506-517, 522-529, 552-559, 564-572, 574-580, 590-604, 625-660 and 252-396 of Seq ID No 202; amino acids 33-50, 67-75, 89-95, 107-116, 119-126, 151-158, 165-170, 175-187, 237-243, 252-258, 272-282, 323-332 and 115-166 of Seq ID No 203; amino acids 14-23, 41-53, 63-107, 111-134, 136-155, 179-210, 223-233, 261-267, 285-290, 296-302 and 203-299 of Seq ID No 204; amino acids 22-31, 35-41, 53-62, 64-75, 79-90 and 1-22 of Seq ID No 205; amino acids 4-14, 17-30, 33-44, 54-62, 67-76, 78-97, 112-118, 143-152, 163-169, 175-188, 191-199, 207-216, 232-239, 243-249, 262-268, 289-296, 312-319, 335-340, 1-35 and 183-264 of Seq ID No 206; amino acids 5-18, 37-53, 56-66, 74-81, 100-110, 120-131, 135-141, 150-156, 174-181, 189-196, 202-211, 225-235, 246-251, 255-260, 311-319, 326-332 and 245-332 of Seq ID No 207; amino acids 4-25, 28-34, 41-49, 71-78, 101-120, 125-156, 167-173, 190-199, 207-213, 218-230, 256-267, 269-275, 286-304, 312-320, 341-349, 363-371, 375-384 and 318-384 of Seq ID No 208; amino acids 23-39, 48-58, 60-82, 85-104, 106-112, 117-142, 181-191, 205-213, 219-236, 242-251, 263-276, 295-302, 308-315, 320-330, 335-343, 363-372, 387-392, 413-419, 430-457, 462-470, 477-492, 499-505, 531-540, 542-548, 568-600, 607-614, 620-630 and 36-419 of Seq ID No 209; amino acids 9-50, 60-68, 70-78, 84-100, 105-113, 125-133, 141-153, 186-202, 204-209, 212-219, 236-253, 287-301, 310-317, 319-327, 332-342, 353-358, 364-396, 422-430, 437-459, 484-508, 510-520, 535-543, 573-583, 591-598, 610-621, 629-640, 648-653, 675-685, 691-708, 728-735, 738-745, 750-763, 765-773, 790-797, 799-820, 842-854, 857-864, 880-885, 903-909, 923-933, 939-951, 980-986, 991-998, 1019-1024, 1026-1033, 1045-1051, 1064-1075, 1077-1094, 1100-1115, 1139-1157, 1163-1181, 1196-1202, 1207-1213, 1219-1225, 1241-1250, 1275-1290, 1304-1310, 1332-1347, 1352-1365, 1383-1405, 1421-1429, 1433-1442, 1372-1419 and 979-1467 of Seq ID No 210; amino acids 4-40, 60-65, 90-102, 125-138, 150-160, 162-172 and 14-104 of Seq ID No 211; amino acids 4-31, 37-53, 59-80, 87-93, 173-183, 185-195, 219-233, 239-247, 265-275 and 72-146 of Seq ID No 212; amino acids 5-22, 38-46, 53-58, 69-78, 80-88, 92-99, 117-124, 142-151, 154-165, 189-196, 206-213, 220-226, 288-309, 15-106 and 137-201 of Seq ID No 213; amino acids 4-17, 37-47, 58-66, 75-81, 83-89, 106-116, 145-152, 162-168 and 41-155 of Seq ID No 214; amino acids 4-16, 50-57, 66-72, 92-100, 102-112, 126-150, 156-167, 194-204, 208-218, 244-256 and 165-200 of Seq ID No 215; amino acids 19-26, 38-51, 81-89, 96-103, 107-114, 117-122, 128-134, 150-158, 164-170 and 26-48 of Seq ID No 216; amino acids 5-24, 30-35, 42-47, 74-86, 107-117, 146-156 and 15-92 of Seq ID No 217; amino acids 5-22, 41-49, 55-65, 85-96, 100-106, 111-117, 125-132, 150-155, 161-189, 204-212, 229-243, 262-277, 286-296, 304-311, 314-323, 353-359, 367-373, 391-397, 410-417, 446-451, 485-500, 335-381, 422-484 and 251-528 of Seq ID No 218; amino acids 4-28, 37-43, 65-72, 109-127, 140-148, 155-166, 188-198 and 50-215 of Seq ID No 219; 4-24, 41-55, 71-79, 84-89, 95-100, 113-125, 138-148, 193-203, 215-221, 300-306, 334-350, 362-369, 385-396 and 91-213 of Seq ID No 220; amino acids 4-24, 94-101, 103-112, 128-134, 141-148, 156-165, 172-181, 191-197, 281-290 and 25-76 of Seq ID No 221; amino acids 5-13, 19-25, 27-40, 47-54, 63-69, 84-98, 119-125, 143-158, 170-182, 199-205, 223-234, 237-251, 257-265, 287-292, 296-301, 307-328, 336-352 and 336-362 of Seq ID No 222; amino acids 4-25, 29-36, 41-47, 54-66, 88-95, 97-110, 115-121, 127-135, 164-193, 203-220, 232-244, 269-275, 278-284, 289-316, 320-327, 336-342, 344-353, 355-363, 370-378, 436-442, 449-454, 460-466, 478-489, 492-505 and 311-377 of Seq ID No 223; amino acids 12-34, 40-48, 84-90, 131-138, 140-151, 157-175, 177-187, 193-201, 207-261, 267-281, 306-312, 334-340, 343-349, 352-357, 369-377, 380-394 and 331-386 of Seq ID No 224; amino acids 6-20, 54-73, 97-116, 129-135, 138-149, 173-191, 194-208 and 116-212 of Seq ID No 225; amino acids 11-34, 41-48, 58-72, 82-88, 90-99, 101-109, 137-145, 161-168, 172-188, 193-211, 215-221, 260-269, 271-278, 304-310, 317-327, 336-351 and 208-230 of Seq ID No 226; amino acids 4-13, 20-30, 73-83, 90-107, 117-137, 226-236, 244-260, 268-275, 286-293, 310-317, 324-330, 340-367, 370-379, 390-422, 427-442, 497-505, 507-513, 549-557, 569-576, 585-593, 611-617, 630-638, 647-657, 659-666, 670-675, 689-699, 726-736, 769-774, 779-802, 866-873, 886-894, 934-940, 956-973, 986-992, 1009-1017, 1026-1041, 1043-1050, 1056-1068, 3-48 and 576-739 of Seq ID No 227; amino acids 10-19, 32-40, 42-48, 50-58, 75-85, 88-97, 112-139 and 32-72 of Seq ID No 228; amino acids 4-13, 20-27, 67-80, 92-98, 101-107, 114-123, 153-169, 174-181, 200-206, 213-219, 226-242, 248-254, 256-289, 299-307, 310-316, 320-326, 329-346, 382-392 and 324-391 of Seq ID No 229; amino acids 32-38, 40-47, 49-54, 79-89, 95-101, 110-117, 122-129, 132-140, 151-157, 178-197, 200-206, 216-227, 249-257, 104-143 and 148-195 of Seq ID No 230; amino acids 10-16, 35-47, 52-77, 81-89, 104-109, 115-123, 132-149, 151-160, 163-184, 197-213, 215-245, 252-266, 294-304, 310-337, 342-348, 362-372, 393-398, 408-430, 452-466, 468-476, 485-491, 497-506, 514-520, 530-537, 539-557, 592-606, 627-632, 636-653, 674-688, 693-731, 748-753, 760-766, 783-797, 805-814, 819-825, 833-840, 843-851, 91-135, 282-299 and 445-477 of Seq ID No 231; amino acids 11-22, 25-31, 55-65, 83-107, 111-129 and 130-137 of Seq ID No 232; amino acids 15-21, 24-43, 60-68, 86-95, 157-185, 188-197 and 3-75 of Seq ID No 233; amino acids 13-19, 35-44, 56-73, 79-92, 116-129, 143-158, 169-178, 198-210, 215-221, 238-243, 247-256, 261-267, 270-294, 310-320, 331-341, 360-366, 377-387, 397-406, 412-421, 423-439, 449-455, 458-465, 473-479, 483-492, 510-525, 561-569, 571-597, 599-619, 635-641, 686-704, 712-721, 738-755, 761-767, 781-794, 806-813, 844-857, 862-873, 875-882, 889-896, 901-915, 921-931, 937-943, 963-975, 991-997, 1001-1009, 1025-1032, 1040-1046, 1051-1056, 1073-1080, 1096-1105, 1112-1154, 1163-1170, 1173-1180, 1186-1197, 1203-1208, 1224-1232, 1237-1249, 1254-1261, 400-429 and 521-545 of Seq ID No 234; amino acids 6-30, 81-87, 117-128, 134-142, 147-158, 178-186, 217-227, 246-255 and 61-122 of Seq ID No 235; amino acids 4-22, 31-38, 77-83, 130-137, 159-169, 188-194, 208-229, 231-238, 272-283, 286-294, 308-315, 317-336, 338-347, 8-232 and 265-318 of Seq ID No 236; amino acids 9-23, 26-34, 36-42, 73-94, 113-142, 186-192, 200-221, 232-238, 246-252, 254-279, 292-307, 311-316, 20-62 and 95-181 of Seq ID No 237; amino acids 26-37, 58-67, 83-89, 97-109, 114-141 and 1-76 of Seq ID No 238; amino acids 13-20, 28-35, 70-78, 95-102, 156-169, 171-180 and 121-178 of Seq ID No 239; amino acids 7-20, 32-41, 131-147, 156-166, 219-226, 240-251, 259-270, 275-282, 299-305, 309-315, 336-342, 344-350 and 195-259 of Seq ID No 240; amino acids 7-23, 37-44, 48-63, 93-102, 108-120, 138-145, 219-228, 237-246, 251-270, 277-283, 292-300, 317-323, 336-351, 361-367, 19-124 and 160-232 of Seq ID No 241; amino acids 28-35, 40-47, 93-100, 102-110, 158-182 and 4-77 of Seq ID No 242; amino acids 8-32, 39-44, 104-110, 157-169, 183-196, 212-217 and 42-199 of Seq ID No 243; amino acids 4-18, 49-56, 72-81, 90-107, 127-133, 146-151 and 48-114 of Seq ID No 244; amino acids 4-22, 24-30, 42-53, 57-62, 66-80, 83-90, 99-104, 112-118, 132-148, 168-175, 179-186 and 97-173 of Seq ID No 245; amino acids 7-19, 33-43, 58-77, 85-91 and 14-63 of Seq ID No 246; amino acids 15-21, 24-35, 75-80, 123-128, 133-139, 148-172 and 7-136 of Seq ID No 247; amino acids 29-35, 51-56, 64-74, 82-88, 100-106, 134-153 and 1-44 of Seq ID No 248; amino acids 32-44, 65-72, 75-103, 136-144, 159-166 and 136-185 of Seq ID No 249; amino acids 16-28, 40-53, 74-89, 108-114, 130-140, 152-160, 168-177 and 3-151 of Seq ID No 250; amino acids 5-27, 39-45, 57-65, 72-83, 130-135 and 27-91 of Seq ID No 251; amino acids 16-22, 31-44, 52-67, 79-84, 95-106, 119-127 and 22-78 of Seq ID No 252; amino acids 4-23, 32-39, 45-53, 67-75, 83-89, 97-112, 133-139, 189-194, 200-205, 241-247, 254-259, 275-282, 287-308, 311-316, 329-339, 344-352 and 157-246 of Seq ID No 253; amino acids 4-21, 24-30, 52-77, 81-88, 97-102, 110-115, 125-137 and 70-113 of Seq ID No 254; amino acids 4-20, 33-38, 44-56, 73-81, 123-135, 159-166, 169-181, 199-204 and 13-91 of Seq ID No 255; amino acids 12-18, 23-31, 39-52, 54-60, 63-74, 89-97, 99-111 and 1-66 of Seq ID No 256; amino acids 4-19, 55-62, 76-94, 96-104, 109-126 and 154-166 of Seq ID No 257; amino acids 4-11, 26-39 and 11-19 of Seq ID No 258; amino acids 4-21 and 15-24 of Seq ID No 259; amino acids 12-25 and 23-45 of Seq ID No 260; amino acids 4-23, 33-55, 59-64, 76-93, 107-125, 129-138 and 54-78 of Seq ID No 261; amino acids 4-27, 56-82 and 21-40 of Seq ID No 262; amino acids 8-17, 24-36, 47-61, 76-83 and 65-83 of Seq ID No 263; amino acids 4-22, 37-46, 54-60, 64-70 and 13-25 of Seq ID No 264; amino acids 9-17, 23-41, 64-86, 6-25 and 53-66 of Seq ID No 265; amino acids 4-23, 29-48 and 18-29 of Seq ID No 266; amino acids 9-20, 26-40, 44-51 and 40-60 of Seq ID No 267; amino acids 4-9, 11-18, 20-31 and 4-21 of Seq ID No 268; amino acids 257-278 of Seq ID No 135; amino acids 159-188 and 184-213 of Seq ID No 137; amino acids 230-251 and 247-267 of Seq ID No 138; amino acids 138-164 and 160-187 of Seq ID No 139; amino acids 97-120, 116-139, 135-158 and 154-177 of Seq ID No 140; amino acids 160-187 of Seq ID No 141; amino acids 165-192 and 188-214 of Seq ID No 143; amino acids 350-378 of Seq ID No 144; amino acids 62-86 and 82-106 of Seq ID No 145; amino acids 18-42, 38-62, 78-102, 98-122, 118-142, 138-165, 275-297, 293-315, 185-211, 207-233 and 229-255 of Seq ID No 146; amino acids 22-50, 46-75, 110-131, 127-148, 344-367, 361-384, 382-405 and 401-424 of Seq ID No 147; amino acids 304-328 of Seq ID No 148; amino acids 6-29, 68-92, 88-112, 449-471 and 485-507 of Seq ID No 149; amino acids 937-962, 958-983, 102-130 and 126-154 of Seq ID No 152; amino acids 80-103, 99-122, 118-141 and 137-159 of Seq ID No 153; amino acids 270-299 of Seq ID No 154; amino acids 126-153 and 172-200 of Seq ID No 155; amino acids 15-40, 36-61, 57-82, 78-103 and 99-124 of Seq ID No 156; amino acids 35-63 and 82-109 of Seq ID No 157; amino acids 298-327 of Seq ID No 160; amino acids 20-43, 39-62, 58-79, 354-377, 404-431, 427-453, 449-475, 471-498 and 494-521 of Seq ID No 161; amino acids 40-62, 58-80, 76-97, 251-276, 272-297, 291-316 and 333-358 of Seq ID No 162; amino acids 197-222, 239-264 and 260-284 of Seq ID No 165; amino acids 378-402 and 438-461 of Seq ID No 166; amino acids 82-107, 103-127, 212-235 and 231-253 of Seq ID No 167; amino acids 1053-1082 of Seq ID No 169; amino acids 270-292 of Seq ID No 170; amino acids 44-65, 61-82 and 78-99 of Seq ID No 171; amino acids 1230-1254 of Seq ID No 172; amino acids 110-131 of Seq ID No 173; amino acids 372-395 and 410-434 of Seq ID No 174; amino acids 439-464 of Seq ID No 175; amino acids 52-77 of Seq ID No 176; amino acids 281-300 and 296-316 of Seq ID No 177; amino acids 33-57 and 53-78 of Seq ID No 178; amino acids 718-744, 740-766 and 762-788 of Seq ID No 179; amino acids 66-93, 89-116, 112-139 and 135-161 of Seq ID No 180; amino acids 171-197 of Seq ID No 182; amino acids 102-127, 123-148 and 144-170 of Seq ID No 184; amino acids 91-114 and 110-133 of Seq ID No 187; amino acids 36-60, 56-80, 76-100, 96-119, 343-371 and 367-394 of Seq ID No 188; amino acids 156-183, 179-206, 202-229, 225-252 and 248-274 of Seq ID No 190; amino acids 98-125, 121-148, 144-170, 165-187, 201-223 and 285-309 of Seq ID No 192; amino acids 390-409 of Seq ID No 193; amino acids 6-33, 29-55, 52-79 and 74-100 of Seq ID No 194; amino acids 172-200 and 196-223 of Seq ID No 195; amino acids 12-39, 35-62, 58-84, 156-179 and 175-197 of Seq ID No 196; amino acids 28-53, 49-73, 165-188, 184-207, 203-226, 292-320, 316-344, 531-560, 556-584 and 580-608 of Seq ID No 198; amino acids 200-228 of Seq ID No 200; amino acids 348-374 of Seq ID No 202; amino acids 116-143 and 139-166 of Seq ID No 203; amino acids 203-227 of Seq ID No 204; amino acids 183-208, 204-229 and 225-250 of Seq ID No 206; amino acids 359-384 of Seq ID No 208; amino acids 353-378, 374-399 and 395-419 of Seq ID No 209; amino acids 1372-1398 and 1394-1419 of Seq ID No 210; amino acids 14-38, 34-58 and 54-78 of Seq ID No 211; amino acids 95-122 and 118-146 of Seq ID No 212; amino acids 20-44, 40-64, 60-84, 80-104, 138-162, 158-182 and 178-201 of Seq ID No 213; amino acids 41-67, 63-89, 85-111 and 107-133 of Seq ID No 214; amino acids 165-185 and 181-200 of Seq ID No 215; amino acids 15-44, 40-68 and 64-92 of Seq ID No 217; amino acids 335-360, 356-381, 422-446 and 442-465 of Seq ID No 218; amino acids 50-74, 70-94, 90-114, 110-133, 164-192 and 188-215 of Seq ID No 219; amino acids 91-116, 112-137, 133-158 and 154-179 of Seq ID No 220; amino acids 331-352 of Seq ID No 224; amino acids 116-143, 139-166, 162-189 and 185-212 of Seq ID No 225; amino acids 3-27, 616-640, 636-659, 655-678, 576-598, 594-615, 611-632, 693-718 and 714-739 of Seq ID No 227; amino acids 32-45 of Seq ID No 228; amino acids 112-135, 131-153, 324-349, 345-370 and 366-391 of Seq ID No 229; amino acids 122-143 and 170-195 of Seq ID No 230; amino acids 377-400, 396-419, 91-115 and 111-135 of Seq ID No 231; amino acids 3-27, 23-47, 43-68, 4-30 and 26-52 of Seq ID No 233; amino acids 400-429 and 521-545 of Seq ID No 234; amino acids 61-84, 80-103 and 99-122 of Seq ID No 235; amino acids 8-31, 124-149, 166-191, 207-232, 265-294 and 290-318 of Seq ID No 236; amino acids 20-43, 39-62, 95-122, 117-143, 133-159 and 155-181 of Seq ID No 237; amino acids 1-29 of Seq ID No 238; amino acids 121-143, 139-160 and 156-178 of Seq ID No 239; amino acids 195-219 of Seq ID No 240; amino acids 4-32, 27-54 and 50-77 of Seq ID No 242; amino acids 160-186, 182-208 and 122-149 of Seq ID No 243; amino acids 48-73 and 69-94 of Seq ID No 244; amino acids 151-173 of Seq ID No 245; amino acids 14-41 and 37-63 of Seq ID No 246; amino acids 7-30, 26-49 and 45-69 of Seq ID No 247; amino acids 1-21 and 17-44 of Seq ID No 248; amino acids 43-66 of Seq ID No 250; amino acids 47-71 and 67-91 of Seq ID No 251; amino acids 39-60 and 56-78 of Seq ID No 252; amino acids 199-224 of Seq ID No 253; amino acids 70-94 and 90-113 of Seq ID No 254; amino acids 48-70 of Seq ID No 255; amino acids 1-25, 21-45 and 41-65 of Seq ID No 256; amino acids 27-51 of Seq ID No 257; amino acids 98-125, 144-170, 165-187, 201-223, 285-309, 305-329, 325-348, 400-425, 513-541, 537-564, 560-587 and 583-610 of Seq ID No 192; amino acids 138-164 and 160-187 of Seq ID No 139; amino acids 160-187 of Seq ID No 141; amino acids 350-378, 374-402, 398-426 and 422-451 of Seq ID No 144; amino acids 264-288, 284-308 and 304-328 of Seq ID No 148; amino acids 77-91 of Seq ID No 150; amino acids 111-134 of Seq ID No 151; amino acids 126-153, 149-176 and 172-200 of Seq ID No 155; amino acids 220-245, 241-266 and 262-288 of Seq ID No 158; amino acids 31-53, 49-71 and 67-89 of Seq ID No 159; amino acids 258-280, 276-298, 294-317 and 313-336 of Seq ID No 163; amino acids 458-472 of Seq ID No 164; amino acids 82-107, 103-127, 212-235 and 231-253 of Seq ID No 167; amino acids 26-51 and 47-73 of Seq ID No 168; amino acids 1053-1082 of Seq ID No 169; amino acids 194-217, 213-236, 232-255, 251-274 and 270-292 of Seq ID No 170; amino acids 110-131, 179-201, 197-219 and 215-236 of Seq ID No 173; amino acids 12-36, 32-56 and 52-77 of Seq ID No 176; amino acids 281-300 and 296-316 of Seq ID No 177; amino acids 33-57 and 53-78 of Seq ID No 178; amino acids 171-197, 193-219 and 215-240 of Seq ID No 182; amino acids 363-388, 384-409 and 405-430 of Seq ID No 183; amino acids 102-127, 123-148 and 144-170 of Seq ID No 184; amino acids 149-163 of Seq ID No 185; amino acids 342-366 and 362-386 of Seq ID No 189; amino acids 390-409 of Seq ID No 193; amino acids 50-64 of Seq ID No 197; amino acids 223-249 and 245-272 of Seq ID No 199; amino acids 117-131 of Seq ID No 201; amino acids 116-143 and 139-166 of Seq ID No 203; amino acids 1-21 of Seq ID No 205; amino acids 245-270, 266-291, 287-312 and 308-332 of Seq ID No 207; amino acids 353-378, 374-399 and 395-419 of Seq ID No 209; amino acids 95-122 and 118-146 of Seq ID No 212; amino acids 128-151, 146-169, 314-336, 339-361 and 357-379 of Seq ID No 135; amino acids 159-188 and 184-213 of Seq ID No 137; amino acids 230-251 and 247-267 of Seq ID No 138; amino acids 97-120, 116-139, 135-158 and 154-177 of Seq ID No 140; amino acids 195-228 of Seq ID No 142; amino acids 165-192 and 188-214 of Seq ID No 143; amino acids 6-29, 25-47, 43-65, 68-92, 262-288, 306-331, 326-351, 449-471, 467-489 and 485-507 of Seq ID No 149; amino acids 80-103, 99-122, 118-141 and 137-159 of Seq ID No 153; amino acids 15-40, 36-61, 57-82, 78-103, 99-124 and 120-146 of Seq ID No 156; amino acids 35-63, 59-86, 187-213, 209-235 and 252-277 of Seq ID No 157; amino acids 83-108, 104-129, 125-150, 146-172, 272-302 and 298-327 of Seq ID No 160; amino acids 197-222, 218-243, 239-264 and 260-284 of Seq ID No 165; amino acids 378-402, 398-422, 418-442 and 438-461 of Seq ID No 166; amino acids 44-65, 61-82 and 78-99 of Seq ID No 171; amino acids 1230-1254 and 150-1275 of Seq ID No 172; amino acids 372-395, 391-414 and 410-434 of Seq ID No 174; amino acids 439-464 of Seq ID No 175; amino acids 718-744, 740-766, 762-788, 906-931, 927-951 and 947-971 of Seq ID No 179; amino acids 66-93, 135-161 and 494-518 of Seq ID No 180; amino acids 40-61, 57-79 and 75-97 of Seq ID No 181; amino acids 440-462, 458-480 and 476-497 of Seq ID No 186; amino acids 91-114, 110-133, 129-152 and 148-170 of Seq ID No 187; amino acids 156-183, 179-206, 202-229, 225-252 and 248-274 of Seq ID No 190; amino acids 747-773 and 769-795 of Seq ID No 191; amino acids 6-33, 29-55, 52-79 and 74-100 of Seq ID No 194; amino acids 148-176, 172-200 and 196-223 of Seq ID No 195; amino acids 28-53, 49-73, 165-188, 203-226, 292-320, 316-344 and 531-560 of Seq ID No 198; amino acids 180-208 and 200-228 of Seq ID No 200; amino acids 203-227, 223-247, 243-267 and 263-287 of Seq ID No 204; amino acids 339-363 and 359-384 of Seq ID No 208; amino acids 1372-1398 of Seq ID No 210; amino acids 14-38, 34-58, 74-98 and 94-117 of Seq ID No 211; amino acids 41-67, 63-89 and 129-155 of Seq ID No 214; amino acids 165-185 and 181-200 of Seq ID No 215; amino acids 26-44 of Seq ID No 216; amino acids 15-44, 40-68 and 64-92 of Seq ID No 217; amino acids 90-114, 110-133, 140-168, 164-192 and 188-215 of Seq ID No 219; amino acids 91-116, 112-137, 133-158 and 154-179 of Seq ID No 220; amino acids 311-338, 334-361, 357-385, 381-409 and 405-433 of Seq ID No 223; amino acids 331-352, 348-369 and 365-386 of Seq ID No 224; amino acids 116-143, 139-166, 162-189 and 185-212 of Seq ID No 225; amino acids 208-230 of Seq ID No 226; amino acids 32-45 and 50-72 of Seq ID No 228; amino acids 131-153, 149-172, 324-349, 345-370 and 366-391 of Seq ID No 229; amino acids 104-126, 122-143, 148-174 and 170-195 of Seq ID No 230; amino acids 91-115, 111-135, 377-400, 396-419, 532-553, 548-569, 715-744 and 740-768 of Seq ID No 231; amino acids 3-27, 23-47 and 43-68 of Seq ID No 233; amino acids 118-141, 137-160 and 521-545 of Seq ID No 234; amino acids 4-30, 26-52 and 48-75 of Seq ID No 233; amino acids 61-84, 80-103 and 99-122 of Seq ID No 235; amino acids 20-43, 39-62, 95-122 and 117-143 of Seq ID No 237; amino acids 195-219, 215-239 and 235-259 of Seq ID No 240; amino acids 27-54 of Seq ID No 242; amino acids 197-217 and 213-232 of Seq ID No 241; amino acids 48-73, 69-94 and 90-114 of Seq ID No 244; amino acids 133-159 and 155-181 of Seq ID No 237; amino acids 14-41 and 37-63 of Seq ID No 246; amino acids 29-52 and 48-70 of Seq ID No 255; amino acids 1-29, 24-53 and 49-76 of Seq ID No 238; amino acids 1-21 and 17-44 of Seq ID No 248; amino acids 122-149 and 145-172 of Seq ID No 243; amino acids 3-27, 23-47, 43-66, 62-85, 136-165, 156-185, 81-107 and 103-129 of Seq ID No 249; amino acids 160-186 and 182-208 of Seq ID No 243; amino acids 27-51 and 47-72 of Seq ID No 257; amino acids 177-191 of Seq ID No 136; amino acids 27-51, 47-71 and 67-91 of Seq ID No 251; amino acids 7-30, 26-49, 45-69 and 65-89 of Seq ID No 247; amino acids 126-137 of Seq ID No 232; amino acids 22-43, 39-60 and 56-78 of Seq ID No 252; amino acids 693-718, 714-739, 438-460, 456-477, 473-495, 806-828, 824-846, 616-640, 636-659, 655-678, 674-697, 576-598, 594-615, 611-632, 851-877, 873-898, 731-760, 756-784, 3-27, 23-48, 957-982 and 978-1002 of Seq ID No 227; amino acids 157-182, 178-203, 199-224 and 220-246 of Seq ID No 253; amino acids 70-94 and 90-113 of Seq ID No 254; amino acids 20-44, 40-64, 60-84, 80-104, 138-162, 158-182 and 178-201 of Seq ID No 213; amino acids 1-25, 21-45 and 41-65 of Seq ID No 256; amino acids 121-143, 139-160 and 156-178 of Seq ID No 239; amino acids 12-39, 35-62, 58-84 and 175-197 of Seq ID No 196; amino acids 18-42, 38-62, 58-82, 78-102, 98-122, 118-142, 138-165, 256-279, 275-297, 293-315, 163-189, 185-211, 207-233 and 229-255 of Seq ID No 146; amino acids 46-75, 110-131, 127-148, 188-216, 212-240, 344-367, 361-384, 382-405 and 401-424 of Seq ID No 147; amino acids 151-180, 176-205, 245-274 and 270-299 of Seq ID No 154; amino acids 937-962, 958-983, 102-130, 126-154, 150-177, 823-849, 845-872, 867-892, 285-314, 310-339 and 335-364 of Seq ID No 152; amino acids 97-119, 115-137, 133-155 and 151-173 of Seq ID No 245; amino acids 20-43, 39-62, 58-79, 69-94, 90-115, 167-189, 185-207, 203-224, 296-320, 316-339, 335-358, 354-377, 404-431, 427-453, 449-475, 471-498 and 494-521 of Seq ID No 161; amino acids 40-62, 76-97, 251-276, 272-297, 291-316 and 333-358 of Seq ID No 162; amino acids 335-360, 356-381, 422-446, 442-465 and 461-484 of Seq ID No 218; amino acids 46-69, 65-88, 84-107, 124-149, 186-211, 207-232, 265-294 and 290-318 of Seq ID No 236; amino acids 56-80, 76-100, 96-119, 343-371, 367-394, 410-436 and 432-457 of Seq ID No 188; amino acids 281-307 and 631-654 of Seq ID No 202; amino acids 41-66, 62-86, 82-106, 102-126, 417-444, 440-466, 528-554, 550-575 and 571-596 of Seq ID No 145.

In an embodiment of the eighth aspect the antigen further consists of

-   -   a) 1 to 50 additional amino acid residue(s), preferably 1 to 40,         more preferably 1 to 30, even more preferably at most 1 to 25,         still more preferably at most 1 to 10, most preferably 1, 2, 3,         4 or 5 additional amino acid residue(s); and/or     -   b) at least one amino acid residue heterologous to the core         amino acid sequence.

In an embodiment of the eighth aspect the amino acid residue(s) is/are flanking the core amino acid sequence C-terminally, N-terminally or C- and N-terminally.

In an embodiment of the eighth aspect the antigen comprises at least 2, preferably at least 3 core amino acid sequences as defined in the eighth aspect.

In a further embodiment the antigen, preferably encoded by said nucleic acids of the present invention, is a functional or active fragment and/or a functional or active variant of said antigen. In a still further preferred embodiment the functional or active fragment and/or the functional or active variant is as defined herein.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a ninth aspect by a process for producing a protein, a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect, comprising expressing the nucleic acid molecule as defined in the first or the second aspect.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a tenth aspect by a process for producing a cell which expresses a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect comprising transforming or transfecting a suitable host cell with the vector as defined in the third aspect.

In an embodiment of the ninth and tenth aspect the protein, the hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or the antigen, or the fragment thereof, is a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, from Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae or Borrelia sinica antigen, preferably from Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in an eleventh aspect by a pharmaceutical composition, preferably a vaccine, comprising a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect or a nucleic acid molecule as defined in the first or the second aspect or a vector as defined in the third aspect.

In a preferred embodiment the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention further comprises an immunostimulatory substance, preferably selected from the group comprising polycationic polymers, more preferably polycationic peptides, immunostimulatory deoxynucleotides (ODNs), peptides containing at least two LysLeuLys motifs, preferably KLKLLLLLKLK (SEQ ID NO:751), neuroactive compounds, more preferably human growth hormone, alum, Freund's complete or incomplete adjuvants or combinations thereof.

In a more preferred embodiment of the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention the immunostimulatory substance is a combination of either a polycationic polymer and immunostimulatory deoxynucleotides or of a peptide containing at least two LysLeuLys motifs and immunostimulatory deoxynucleotides.

In a still more preferred embodiment of the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention the polycationic polymer is a polycationic peptide, especially polyarginine.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twelfth aspect by the use of a nucleic acid molecule as defined in the first or the second aspect or of a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or an antigen, or fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect for the manufacture of a pharmaceutical preparation or medicament, especially for the manufacture of a vaccine against Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae and Borrelia sinica, preferably a vaccine against Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a thirteenth aspect by an antibody, or at least an effective part thereof, which binds to at least a selective part of a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, preferably an active fragment thereof, or a variant thereof, preferably an active variant thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect.

In an embodiment of the thirteenth aspect the antibody is a monoclonal antibody.

In an embodiment of the thirteenth aspect said effective part comprises a Fab fragment, a F(ab) fragment, a F(ab) N fragment, a F (ab)₂ fragment or a F_(v) fragment.

In an embodiment of the thirteenth aspect the antibody is a chimeric antibody.

In an embodiment of the thirteenth aspect the antibody is a humanized antibody.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a fourteenth aspect by a hybridoma cell line, which produces an antibody as defined in the thirteenth aspect.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a fifteenth aspect by a method for producing an antibody as defined in the thirteenth aspect, characterized by the following steps:

-   -   a) initiating an immune response in a non-human animal by         administrating a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen         or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth,         sixth, seventh or eighth aspect, to said animal,     -   b) removing an antibody containing body fluid from said animal,         and     -   c) producing the antibody by subjecting said antibody containing         body fluid to further purification steps.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a sixteenth aspect by a method for producing an antibody as defined in the thirteenth aspect, characterized by the following steps:

-   -   a) initiating an immune response in a non-human animal by         administrating a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen         or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth,         sixth, seventh or eighth aspect, to said animal,     -   b) removing the spleen or spleen cells from said animal,     -   c) producing hybridoma cells of said spleen or spleen cells,     -   d) selecting and cloning hybridoma cells specific for said         protein, hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or antigen, or a         fragment thereof,     -   e) producing the antibody by cultivation of said cloned         hybridoma cells and optionally further purification steps.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a seventeenth aspect by the use of to an antibody as defined in the thirteenth aspect for the preparation of a medicament for treating or preventing infections with Borrelia, preferably pathogenic Borrelia, more preferably Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae and Borrelia sinica, and most preferably with Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii.

According to another aspect the present invention provides an antagonist, which binds or is capable of binding to a protein, hyperimmune reactive antigen or antigen, or an active fragment or active variant thereof as disclosed in the present invention. According to a still further aspect the antagonist according to the present invention is an antagonist which is capable of reducing or inhibiting the interaction activity of a protein, a hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen or an antigen, or an active fragment thereof or an active variant thereof, according to the present invention to its interaction partner. Such interaction partner is, in a preferred embodiment, an antibody or a receptor, preferably a physiological receptor, of said protein, hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen and/or antigen, or an active fragment thereof or an active variant thereof.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in an eighteenth aspect by a method for identifying an antagonist capable of binding to a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect, comprising:

-   -   a) contacting an isolated or immobilized protein, hyperimmune         reactive serum antigen or antigen, or a fragment thereof, as         defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect with a         candidate antagonist under conditions to permit binding of said         candidate antagonist to said protein, hyperimmune reactive serum         antigen or antigen, or fragment thereof, in the presence of a         component capable of providing a detectable signal in response         to the binding of the candidate antagonist to said protein,         hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or antigen, or fragment         thereof; and     -   b) detecting the presence or absence of a signal generated in         response to the binding of the antagonist to said protein,         hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or antigen, or fragment         thereof.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a nineteenth aspect by a method for identifying an antagonist capable of reducing or inhibiting the interaction activity of a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof, according to the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect to its interaction partner comprising:

-   -   a) providing a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or         an antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth,         sixth, seventh or eighth aspect,     -   b) providing an interaction partner to said protein, hyperimmune         reactive serum antigen or antigen, or fragment thereof,         especially an antibody according to the thirteenth aspect,     -   c) allowing interaction of said protein, hyperimmune reactive         serum antigen or antigen, or fragment thereof, to said         interaction partner to form an interaction complex,     -   d) providing a candidate antagonist,     -   e) allowing a competition reaction to occur between the         candidate antagonist and the interaction complex,     -   f) determining whether the candidate antagonist inhibits or         reduces the interaction activities of the protein, hyperimmune         reactive serum antigen or antigen, or fragment thereof, with the         interaction partner.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twentieth aspect by use of any of the protein, hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect for the isolation and/or purification and/or identification of an interaction partner of said protein, hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or antigen, or fragment thereof.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twenty-first aspect by a method for diagnosing an infection with a Borrelia organism comprising the steps of:

-   -   a) contacting a sample obtained from a subject with the protein,         hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, or any fragment         thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth         aspect; and     -   b) detecting the presence of an antibody against said Borrelia         organism in the sample.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twenty-second aspect by a method for diagnosing an infection with a Borrelia organism comprising the steps of:

-   -   a) contacting a sample obtained from a subject with a primer or         a probe specific for a nucleic acid molecule, or a fragment         thereof, as defined in the first or the second aspect; and     -   b) detecting the presence of such nucleic acid molecule or         fragment thereof in the sample.

The present invention also provides a process for in vitro diagnosing a disease related to expression of a hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen or a fragment thereof according to the present invention comprising determining the presence of a nucleic acid sequence encoding said hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or fragment thereof according to the present invention or the presence of the hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or fragment thereof according to the present invention.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twenty-third aspect by a method for diagnosing an infection with a Borrelia organism comprising the steps of:

-   -   a) contacting a sample obtained from a subject with the antibody         according to the thirteenth aspect; and     -   b) detecting the presence of an antigen of said Borrelia         organism in the sample.

In an embodiment of the twenty-third aspect the antigen of said Borrelia organism is a protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect.

In an embodiment of the twenty-first, twenty-second and twenty-third aspect the Borrelia organism is a pathogenic Borrelia organism, more preferably a Borrelia organism selected from the group comprising Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae and Borrelia sinica, and even more preferably selected from the group comprising B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii.

Moreover, the present invention provides the use of a protein, a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or an antigen, or a fragment thereof or a variant thereof, as defined in the present invention for the generation of a peptide binding to said protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, or a fragment thereof or a variant thereof, wherein the peptide is an anticaline.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twenty-fourth aspect by use of a protein, a hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or an antigen, or fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect for the manufacture of a functional nucleic acid, wherein the functional nucleic acid is selected from the group comprising aptamers and spiegelmers.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twenty-fifth aspect by use of a nucleic acid molecule as defined in the first or the second aspect for the manufacture of a functional ribonucleic acid, wherein the functional ribonucleic acid is selected from the group comprising ribozymes, antisense nucleic acids and siRNA.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twenty-sixth aspect by a method for the treatment of a Borrelia infection in an animal or man preferably in need thereof, comprising the step of administering to said animal or man a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition or a medicament as defined in any of the preceding aspects or an antibody as defined in the thirteenth aspect.

In an embodiment of the twenty-sixth aspect the Borrelia infection is an infection with Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae or Borrelia sinica, preferably Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twenty-seventh aspect by a method for immunizing an animal or man against infection with a Borrelia organism, comprising the step of administering to said animal or man an effective amount of the protein, the hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or the antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect, or of the nucleic acid molecule as defined in the first or the second aspect or a vector as defined in the third aspect, wherein the effective amount is suitable to elicit an immune response in said animal or man.

In an embodiment of the twenty-seventh aspect the Borrelia organism is selected from the group comprising Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae and Borrelia sinica, preferably Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved in a twenty-eighth aspect by a method for stimulating an immune response in an animal or man against a Borrelia organism, comprising the step of administering to said animal or man an effective amount of the protein, the hyperimmune reactive serum antigen or the antigen, or a fragment thereof, as defined in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth aspect, or of the nucleic acid molecule as defined in the first or the second aspect or a vector as defined in the third aspect, wherein the effective amount is suitable to stimulate the immune response in said animal or man.

In an embodiment of the twenty-eighth aspect the Borrelia organism is selected from the group comprising Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae and Borrelia sinica, preferably Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii.

It is within the present invention that the various methods and uses, respectively, where a protein, a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or an antigen, as defined in the present invention is used, can also be performed or practiced using a fragment of such protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, preferably an active fragment thereof, or a variant of such protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, preferably an active variant thereof, each as preferably described herein. It is also within the present invention that the various kinds of compounds disclosed herein as interacting with or targeting the protein, the hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen and/or the antigen according to the present invention, can additionally or alternatively interact with or target the active fragment or active variant of said protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen.

It is also within the present invention that each and any method in the practice of which an antibody is used, can, in principle, also be practiced when instead of the antibody the anticalines or the functional nucleic acids as defined herein are used, whereby it is preferred that such functional nucleic acid is selected from the group comprising aptamers and spiegelmers. This applies equally to the various uses of the present application.

In a preferred embodiment a fragment of a protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, each as disclosed herein, is a part of such protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen which exhibits at least one feature of such protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen. Preferably such feature is a feature selected from the group comprising treatment of infections, immunization of an animal including man, and stimulation of an immune response in an animal including man.

It is also within the present invention that any disclosure made herein in relation to Borrelia and more specifically Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. is equally applicable to a Borrelia species, whereby the Borrelia species is preferably selected from the group comprising Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae and Borrelia sinica.

As preferably used herein the term polypeptide according to the present invention refers in a comprehensive manner to the protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen according to the present invention, including each and any variant, fragment, analogue or derivative thereof, particularly as described herein. Insofar, whenever the term polypeptide is used herein, and if not explicitly stated otherwise, the respective disclosure is also made for or in relation to any protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen according to the present invention, including each and any variant, fragment, analogue or derivative thereof, particularly as described herein. Also it is to be understood that any use or aspect described in connection with any of the above mentioned compounds covered by the term polypeptide according to the present invention shall be applicable also to each and any other of the above mentioned compounds covered by the term polypeptide according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

The present invention advantageously provides an efficient, relevant and comprehensive set of isolated nucleic acid molecules and proteins, hyperimmune reactive antigens or antigens encoded by them, including the active fragments and the active variants thereof, using an antibody preparation from multiple human plasma pools and surface expression libraries derived from the genome of B. burgdorferi s.l. Thus, the present invention fulfils a widely felt demand for B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens, vaccines, diagnostics and products useful in procedures for preparing antibodies and for identifying compounds effective against infections caused by pathogenic Borrelia species, preferably the Borrelia species described in Table A herein, more preferably B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii or B. garinii.

An effective vaccine should be composed of proteins or polypeptides, which are expressed by all strains and are able to induce high affinity, abundant antibodies against cell surface components of said pathogenic Borrelia species, including B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii or B. garinii. The antibodies should be IgG1 and/or IgG3 for opsonization, and any IgG subtype for neutralisation of adherence and toxin action. A chemically defined vaccine must be definitely superior compared to a whole cell vaccine (attenuated or killed), since components of said pathogenic Borrelia species, including B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii or B. garinii, which cross-react with human tissues or inhibit opsonization can be eliminated, and the individual proteins inducing protective antibodies and/or a protective immune response can be selected.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the nucleic acid molecules exhibit 70% identity over their entire length to a nucleotide sequence set forth in Seq ID Nos 1 to 134, 269 to 387 or 507 to 628. More preferred are nucleic acids that comprise a region that is at least 80% or at least 85% identical over their entire length to a nucleic acid molecule set forth in Seq ID Nos 1 to 134, 269 to 387 or 507 to 628. In this regard, nucleic acid molecules at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, or 96% identical over their entire length to the same are particularly preferred. Furthermore, those with at least 97% are highly preferred, those with at least 98% and at least 99% are particularly highly preferred, with at least 99% or 99.5% being the more preferred, with 100% identity being especially preferred. Moreover, preferred embodiments in this respect are nucleic acids, which encode proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigens, or fragments thereof (polypeptides) which retain substantially the same biological function or activity as the mature polypeptide encoded by said nucleic acids set forth in the Seq ID Nos 135 to 268, 388 to 506 or 629 to 750. It is also within the present invention that the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention are coding for a protein which is preferably a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or an antigen. Still further it is within the present invention that the molecules encoded by Seq ID Nos 135 to 268, 388 to 506 or 629 to 750 are proteins, which are preferably antigens or hyperimmune serum reactive antigens.

Identity, as known in the art and used herein, is the relationship between two or more polypeptide sequences or two or more polynucleotide sequences, as determined by comparing the sequences. In the art, identity also means the degree of sequence relatedness between polypeptide or polynucleotide sequences, as the case may be, as determined by the match between strings of such sequences. Identity can be readily calculated. While there exist a number of methods to measure identity between two polynucleotide or two polypeptide sequences, the term is well known to skilled artisans (e.g. Sequence Analysis in Molecular Biology, von Heinje, G., Academic Press, 1987). Preferred methods to determine identity are designed to give the largest match between the sequences tested. Methods to determine identity are codified in computer programs. Preferred computer program methods to determine identity between two sequences include, but are not limited to, GCG program package (Devereux, J. et al., 1984), BLASTP, BLASTN, and FASTA (Altschul, S. et al., 1990).

The nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention can, as a second alternative to the nucleic acid molecules described herein by reference to Seq ID Nos, the description of which is also referred to herein as first alternative, also be nucleic acid molecules, which are at least essentially complementary to the nucleic acids described in accordance with the first alternative herein. It will be acknowledged by the ones skilled in the art that an individual nucleic acid molecule is at least essentially complementary to another individual nucleic acid molecule. As used herein complementary means that a nucleic acid strand is base pairing via Watson-Crick base pairing with a second nucleic acid strand. Essentially complementary as used herein means that the base pairing is not occurring for all of the bases of the respective strands but leaves a certain number or percentage of the bases unpaired or wrongly paired. The percentage of correctly pairing bases is preferably at least 70%, more preferably 80%, even more preferably 90% and most preferably any percentage higher than 90%. Such higher percentage includes 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 and 100%, whereby such definition is applicable to each aspect of the present application where this kind of terminology is used. It is to be noted that a percentage of 70% matching bases is considered as homology and the to hybridisation having this extent of matching base pairs is considered as stringent. Hybridisation conditions for this kind of stringent hybridisation may be taken from Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1987). More particularly, the hybridisation conditions can be as follows:

-   -   a) Hybridisation performed e.g. in 5×SSPE, 5×Denhardt's reagent,         0.1% SDS, 100 g/mL sheared DNA at 68° C.     -   b) Moderate stringency wash in 0.2×SSC, 0.1% SDS at 42° C.     -   c) High stringency wash in 0.1×SSC, 0.1% SDS at 68° C.

Genomic DNA with a GC content of 50% has an approximate T_(M) of 96° C. For 1% mismatch, the T_(M) is reduced by approximately 1° C.

In addition, any of the further hybridisation conditions described herein are in principle applicable as well.

Of course, all nucleic acid sequence molecules which encode the same polypeptide molecule as those identified by the present invention are encompassed by any disclosure of a given coding sequence, since the degeneracy of the genetic code is directly applicable to unambiguously determine all possible nucleic acid molecules which encode a given polypeptide molecule, even if the number of such degenerated nucleic acid molecules may be high. This is also applicable for active fragments or active variants of a given polypeptide, protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen, as long as the fragments or variant encode a polypeptide, protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen being suitable to be used such that the same effect can be obtained as if the full-length polypeptide, protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen was used, preferably may be used in a vaccination connection, e.g. as an active or passive vaccine.

The nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention can, as a third alternative, also be a nucleic acid which comprises a stretch of at least 15 bases of the nucleic acid molecule according to the first or second alternative of the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention as outlined above. Preferably, the bases form a contiguous stretch of bases. However, it is also within the scope of the present invention that the stretch consists of two or more moieties, which are separated by a number of bases.

The nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention may preferably consist of at least 20, even more preferred at least 30, especially at least 50 contiguous bases from the sequences disclosed herein. The suitable length may easily be optimized due to the intended field of use (e.g. as (PCR) primers, probes, capture molecules (e.g. on a (DNA) chip), etc.). Preferred nucleic acid molecules contain at least a contiguous 15 base portion of one or more of the immunogenic amino acid sequences listed in tables 1, 5 and 6. Specifically preferred are nucleic acids containing a contiguous portion of a DNA sequence of any sequence contained in the sequence protocol of the present application which shows 1 or more, preferably more than 2, especially more than 5, non-identical nucleic acid residues compared to the B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii genomes and plasmids as specified in the following by their NCBI accession numbers and plasmid designation (variable plasmid segments; VPS): B. burgdorferi s.s. (B31), NC_(—)001318 (linear chromosome), NC_(—)000957 (lp5), NC_(—)000956 (lp56), NC_(—)000953 (cp32-8), NC_(—)000952 (cp32-7), NC_(—)000951 (cp32-6), NC_(—)000950 (cp32-4), NC_(—)000949 (cp32-3), NC_(—)000948 (cp32-1), NC_(—)000955 (lp21), NC_(—)000954 (cp32-9), NC_(—)001904 (cp9), NC_(—)001903 (cp26), NC_(—)001851 (lp28-1), NC_(—)001857 (lp54), NC_(—)001856 (lp38), NC_(—)001855 (lp36), NC_(—)001854 (lp28-4), NC_(—)001853 (lp28-3), NC_(—)001852 (lp28-2), NC_(—)001850 (lp25), NC_(—)001849 (lp17); B. garinii (PBi), NC_(—)006156 (linear chromosome), NC_(—)006128 (cp26), NC_(—)006129 (lp54), NT_(—)108263 (VPS G11a15f12.s1), NT_(—)108262 (VPS G1M1b11b03.s1), NT_(—)108261 (VPS G1M1b15c06.r1), NT_(—)108260 (VPS G11a-14d08.s1), NT_(—)108259 (VPS PBil1a03e01.s1), NT_(—)108258 (VPS G1a13d03.r1), NT_(—)108257 (VPS G1Mb19g09.r1), NT_(—)108256 (VPS G11a19d04.r1), NT_(—)108255 (VPS G1a13d06.s1), NT_(—)108254 (VPS Gla18e10.s1), NT_(—)108253 (VPS G1a22b07.r1), NT_(—)108252 (VPS G11a15h12.r1), NT_(—)108251 (VPS G1a18d09.s1), NT_(—)108250 (VPS Gla07g11.r1), NT_(—)108249 (VPS GlMb28a10.r1), NT_(—)108248 (VPS G1a23g09.r1), NT_(—)108247 (VPS PBilM1b05c04.r1), NT_(—)108246 (VPS G1M1b09a03.r1), NT_(—)108245 (VPS Gla10e03.r1), NT_(—)108244 (VPS GlMbl2b07.s1), NT_(—)108243 (VPS G1a25a05.r1), NT_(—)108242 (VPS G11a16g12.s1), NT_(—)108241 (VPS G11a14a06.r1), NT_(—)108240 (VPS G1a34d11.r1), NT_(—)108239 (VPS G1a19c04.r1), NT_(—)108238 (VPS GlMb03b12.r1), NT_(—)108237 (VPS G11a16d07.r1), NT_(—)108236 (VPS G1a09h07.r1), NT_(—)108235 (VPS G1a07d05.r1), NT_(—)108234 (VPS G1M1b07c12.s1), NT_(—)108233 (VPS G11a15e03.s1), NT_(—)108232 (VPS G1M1b09g01.s1), NT_(—)108231 (VPS G1a34h09.s1), NT_(—)108230 (VPS G1a08d08.s1), NT_(—)108229 (VPS G1M1b13a11.r1), NT_(—)108228 (VPS G11a17h03.s1, NT_(—)108227 (VPS G1a19d06.s1).

Specifically preferred non-identical nucleic acid residues are residues, which lead to a non-identical amino acid residue. Preferably, the nucleic acid sequences encode polypeptides, proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigens having at least 1, preferably at least 2, preferably at least 3 different amino acid residues compared to the published or listed B. burgdorferi s.l. counterparts mentioned above. Preferably, this kind of polypeptides, proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigens still has at least one of the characteristics of the molecules disclosed herein having identical amino acid residues. Also such isolated polypeptides, being fragments of the proteins (or the whole protein), hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigens disclosed herein e.g. in the sequence listing, having at least 6, 7, or 8 amino acid residues and being encoded by these nucleic acids, are preferred.

The nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention can, as a fourth alternative, also be a nucleic acid molecule which anneals under stringent hybridisation conditions to any of the nucleic acids of the present invention according to the first, second, or third alternative as disclosed herein. Stringent hybridisation conditions are typically those described herein.

Finally, the nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention can, as a fifth alternative, also be a nucleic acid molecule which, but for the degeneracy of the genetic code, would hybridise to any of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention according to the first, second, third, and fourth alternative as outlined herein. This kind of nucleic acid molecule refers to the fact that preferably the nucleic acids according to the present invention code for the protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigen, or fragments thereof or variants thereof, according to the present invention. This kind of nucleic acid molecule is particularly useful in the detection of a nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention and thus the diagnosis of the respective microorganisms such as B. burgdorferi s.s. or any pathogenic Borrelia species, particularly those pathogenic Borrelia species disclosed herein, and any disease or diseased condition where these kinds of microorganism are involved, which preferably is that such mircoorganism is causing directly or indirectly, such as an opportunistic microorganism such disease or diseased condition. Preferably, the hybridisation could occur or be preformed under stringent conditions as described in connection with the fourth alternative described herein.

Nucleic acid molecule as used herein generally refers to any ribonucleic acid molecule or deoxyribonucleic acid molecule, which may be unmodified RNA or DNA or modified RNA or DNA. Thus, for instance, nucleic acid molecule as used herein refers to, among other, single- and double-stranded DNA, DNA that is a mixture of single- and double-stranded RNA, and RNA that is a mixture of single- and double-stranded regions, hybrid molecules comprising DNA and RNA that may be single-stranded or, more typically, double-stranded, or triple-stranded, or a mixture of single- and double-stranded regions. In addition, nucleic acid molecule as used herein refers to triple-stranded regions comprising RNA or DNA or both RNA and DNA. The strands in such regions may be from the same molecule or from different molecules. The regions may include all of one or more of the molecules, but more typically involve only a region of some of the molecules. One of the molecules of a triple-helical region often is an oligonucleotide. As used herein, the term nucleic acid molecule includes DNAs or RNAs as described above that contain one or more modified bases. Thus, DNAs or RNAs with backbones modified for stability or for other reasons are “nucleic acid molecule” as that term is intended herein. Moreover, DNAs or RNAs comprising unusual bases, such as inosine, or modified bases, such as tritylated bases, to name just two examples, are nucleic acid molecule as the term is used herein. It will be appreciated that a great variety of modifications have been made to DNA and RNA that serve many useful purposes known to those of skill in the art. The term nucleic acid molecule as it is employed herein embraces such chemically, enzymatically or metabolically modified forms of nucleic acid molecule, as well as the chemical forms of DNA and RNA characteristic of viruses and cells, including simple and complex cells, inter alia. The term nucleic acid molecule also embraces short nucleic acid molecules often referred to as oligonucleotide(s). “Polynucleotide” and “nucleic acid” or “nucleic acid molecule” are often used interchangeably herein.

Nucleic acid molecules provided in the present invention also encompass numerous unique fragments, both longer and shorter than the nucleic acid molecule sequences set forth in the to sequencing listing of the present application, more specifically of the B. burgdorferi s.s. coding regions, which can be generated by standard cloning methods. To be unique, a fragment must be of sufficient size to distinguish it from other known nucleic acid sequences, most readily determined by comparing any selected B. burgdorferi s.s. fragment to the nucleotide sequences in computer databases such as GenBank. It will be appreciated by the ones skilled in the art that what is said herein in any aspect in relation to B. burgdorferi s.l. applies equally to any of the other Borrelia species described herein, more preferably any pathogenic Borrelia species described herein.

Additionally, modifications can be made to the nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides that are encompassed by the present invention. For example, nucleotide substitutions can be made which do not affect the polypeptide encoded by the nucleic acid, and thus any nucleic acid molecule which encodes a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or fragments thereof is encompassed by the present invention.

Furthermore, any of the nucleic acid molecules encoding hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or fragments thereof provided by the present invention can be functionally linked, using standard techniques such as standard cloning techniques, to any desired regulatory sequences, whether an B. burgdorferi s.l. regulatory sequence or a heterologous regulatory sequence, heterologous leader sequence, heterologous marker sequence or a heterologous coding sequence to create a fusion protein.

Nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may be in the form of RNA, such as mRNA or cRNA, or in the form of DNA, including, for instance, cDNA and genomic DNA obtained by cloning or produced by chemical synthetic techniques or by a combination thereof. The DNA may be triple-stranded, double-stranded or single-stranded. Single-stranded DNA may be the coding strand, also known as the sense strand, or it may be the non-coding strand, also referred to as the anti-sense strand.

The present invention further relates to variants of the nucleic acid molecules described herein which encode fragments, analogs and derivatives of the hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof having a deducted B. burgdorferi s.l. amino acid sequence set forth in the Sequence Listing. A variant of the nucleic acid molecule may be a naturally occurring variant such as a naturally occurring allelic variant, or it may be a variant that is not known to occur naturally. Such non-naturally occurring variants of the nucleic acid molecule may be made by mutagenesis techniques, including those applied to nucleic acid molecules, cells or organisms.

Among variants in this regard are variants that differ from the aforementioned nucleic acid molecules by nucleotide substitutions, deletions or additions. The substitutions, deletions or additions may involve one or more nucleotides. The variants may be altered in coding or non-coding regions or both. Alterations in the coding regions may produce conservative or non-conservative amino acid substitutions, deletions or additions. Preferred are nucleic acid molecules encoding a variant, analog, derivative or fragment, or a variant, analogue or derivative of a fragment, which have an B. burgdorferi s.l. sequence as set forth in the Sequence Listing, in which several, a few, 5 to 10, 1 to 5, 1 to 3, 2, 1 or no amino acid(s) is substituted, deleted or added, in any combination. Especially preferred among these are silent substitutions, additions and deletions, which do not alter the properties and activities of the B. burgdorferi s.l. polypeptides set forth in the Sequence Listing. Also especially preferred in this regard are conservative substitutions.

Variants of any of the antigens in their various embodiments disclosed herein and in particular the antigens and peptides specified herein by Seq ID Nos 135 to 268, 388 to 506 or 629 to 750, can typically also be characterized by means of bioinformatics. Respective tools such as the NCBI Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) (Altschul, S. et al., 1990) are available from several sources, including the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, Bethesda, Md.) and on the Internet, for use in connection with the sequence analysis programs blastp, blastn, blastx, tblastn and tblastx. For comparisons of amino acid sequences of at least 35 amino acids, the Blast 2 sequences function of NCBI Blast 2.0 was employed using the default BLOSUM62 matrix set to default parameters (gapped blastp; gap existence cost of 11, and a per residue gap cost of 1). When aligning short peptides (fewer than around 35 amino acids), the alignment is performed using the Blast 2 sequences function, employing the PAM30 matrix set to default parameters (open gap 9, extension gap 1 penalties). Methods to for determining sequence identity over such short windows such as 15 amino acids or less are described at the website that is maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in Bethesda, Md.

The functional active variant of an antigen which is also referred to herein either as the functional variant or the active variant which in turn are used herein in an interchangeable manner, is obtained by sequence alterations in the protein, hyperimmune serum reactive antigen or antigen which are collectively also referred to herein as the polypeptides according to the present invention, including each and any variant, fragment, analogue or derivative thereof, if not explicitly indicated to the contrary, wherein the polypeptide according to the present invention with the sequence alterations retains a function of the unaltered polypeptide according to the present invention, such as it specifically binds a polypeptide specific antibody that binds an unaltered form of the polypeptide according to the present invention. Such sequence alterations can include, but are not limited to, conservative substitutions, deletions, mutations and insertions. Preferably, the active variant exhibits reactivity with human sera of Lyme disease patients, more preferably mediates seroconversion and most preferably shows bactericidal activity. These characteristics of the active variant can be assessed e.g. as detailed in the Examples. In the context of the present invention a variant specifically binds a specific antibody (preferably being polyclonal antibodies raised against recombinant proteins in animals such as mouse, rabbit or monoclonal antibodies generated in mouse), exhibits reactivity with human sera of Lyme disease patients, mediates seroconversion or shows bactericidal activity, if the activity of the variant amounts to at least 10%, preferably at least 25%, more preferably at least 50%, even more preferably at least 70%, still more preferably at least 80%, especially at least 90%, particularly at least 95%, most preferably at least 99% of the activity of the antigen without sequence alterations.

The term “functional active variant” or “active variant” includes naturally-occurring allelic variants, as well as mutants or any other non-naturally occurring variants. As is known in the art, an allelic variant is an alternate form of a (poly)peptide that is characterized as having a substitution, deletion, or addition of one or more amino acids that does essentially not alter the biological function of the polypeptide. By “biological function” is preferably meant a function of the polypeptide in cells or organisms in which it naturally occurs, even if the to function is not necessary for the growth or survival of the cells and organisms, respectively. For example, the biological function of a porn is to allow the entry into cell of compounds present in the extracellular medium. The biological function is distinct from the antigenic function. A polypeptide according to the present invention can have more than one biological function.

Within any species of the living world, allelic variation is the rule. For example, any bacterial species, e.g. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., is usually represented by a variety of strains (characterized by clonal reproduction) that differ from each other by minor allelic variations. Indeed, a polypeptide that fulfils the same biological function in different strains can have an amino acid sequence that is not identical in each of the strains. Such an allelic variation is equally reflected at the polynucleotide level.

Allelic variation is very common within the Borrelia species as described for ospC (Livey, I. et al., 1995).

In a preferred embodiment, the active variant of or the active fragment derived from the polypeptide according to the present invention by amino acid exchanges, deletions or insertions may also conserve, or more preferably improve, the activity (reactivity, seroconversion and/or bactericidal activity as defined herein). Furthermore, these polypeptides may also cover epitopes, which trigger the same or preferably an improved T cell response. These epitopes are referred to as “heteroclitic” as further defined herein. They have a similar or preferably greater affinity to MHC/HLA molecules, and the ability to stimulate the T cell receptors (TCR) directed to the original epitope in a similar or preferably stronger manner. Heteroclitic epitopes can be obtained by rational design i.e. taking into account the contribution of individual residues to binding to MHC/HLA as for instance described by Rammensee et al. (Rammensee, H. et al., 1999, Immunogenetics. 50: 213-219), combined with a systematic exchange of residues potentially interacting with the TCR and testing the resulting sequences with T cells directed against the original epitope. Such a design is possible for a skilled man in the art without undue experimentation.

In a still more preferred embodiment of the invention the active variant of a polypeptide according to the present invention is any of any the polypeptides disclosed herein and more specifically any of the polypeptides defined by the Seq ID Nos 135 to 268, 388 to 506 or 629 to 750, having at least 50% sequence identity to the polypeptides of any of said Seq ID Nos, especially at least 60%, preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, still more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 95%, most preferably 99% sequence identity to the polypeptides of any of said Seq ID Nos and/or is derived from said polypeptides of any of the sequences of Seq ID Nos by conservative substitutions. Conservative substitutions are those that take place within a family of amino acids that are related in their side chains and chemical properties. Examples of such families are amino acids with basic side chains, with acidic side chains, with non-polar aliphatic side chains, with non-polar aromatic side chains, with uncharged polar side chains, with small side chains, with large side chains etc. In one embodiment, one conservative substitution is included in the peptide. In another embodiment, two conservative substitutions or less are included in the peptide. In a further embodiment, three conservative substitutions or less are included in the peptide.

Examples of conservative amino acid substitutions include, but are not limited to, those listed below:

Original Residue Conservative Substitutions Ala Ser Arg Lys Asn Gln; His Asp Glu Cys Ser Gln Asn Glu Asp His Asn; Gln Ile Leu, Val Leu Ile; Val Lys Arg; Gln; Asn Met Leu; Ile Phe Met; Leu; Tyr Ser Thr Thr Ser Trp Tyr Tyr Trp; Phe Val Ile; Leu

The polypeptides according to the present invention, and fragments and variants thereof, also include or consist of modified epitopes wherein preferably one or two of the amino acids of a given epitope are modified or replaced according to the rules disclosed in, e.g., Tourdot, S. et al., 2000, as well as the nucleic acid sequences encoding such modified epitopes. The epitopes as presented by the polypeptides according to the present invention are also referred to herein as the present epitopes.

It is clear that also epitopes derived from the present epitopes by amino acid exchanges improving, conserving or at least not significantly impeding the T cell activating capability of the epitopes are covered by the epitopes according to the present invention. Therefore the present epitopes also cover epitopes, which do not contain the original sequence as derived from B. burgdorferi s.l., but trigger the same or preferably an improved T cell response. These epitope are referred to as “heteroclitic”; they need to have a similar or preferably greater affinity to MHC/HLA molecules, and the need the ability to stimulate the T cell receptors (TCR) directed to the original epitope in a similar or preferably stronger manner.

Another possibility for identifying epitopes and more specifically heteroclitic epitopes includes the screening of peptide libraries with T cells directed against one or several of the present epitopes. A preferred way is the positional scanning of synthetic peptide libraries. Such approaches have been described in detail for instance by Hemmer, B. et al., 1999 and the references given therein.

As an alternative to epitopes represented by the present derived amino acid sequences or heteroclitic epitopes as disclosed herein, also substances or compounds mimicking these epitopes which are also referred to herein as “peptidemimetica” or “retro-inverse-peptides” can be applied and are thus within the present invention.

Another aspect of the design of improved epitopes is their formulation or modification with substances increasing their capacity to stimulate T cells. These include T helper cell epitopes, lipids or liposomes or preferred modifications as described in WO 01/78767.

Another way to increase the T cell stimulating capacity of epitopes is their formulation with immune stimulating substances for instance cytokines or chemokines like interleukin-2, -7, -12, -18, class I and II interferons (IFN), especially IFN-gamma, GM-CSF, TNF-alpha, flt3-ligand and others.

The nucleic acid molecules of the present invention may also be used as a hybridisation probe for, e.g., RNA, cDNA and genomic DNA to isolate full-length cDNAs and genomic clones encoding polypeptides of the present invention and to isolate cDNA and genomic clones of other genes that have a high sequence similarity to the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention. Such probes generally will comprise at least 15 bases. Preferably, such probes will have at least 20, at least 25 or at least 30 bases, and may have at least 50 bases. Particularly preferred probes will have at least 30 bases, and will have 50 bases or less, such as 30, 35, 40, 45, or 50 bases.

For example, the coding region of a nucleic acid molecule of the present invention may be isolated by screening a relevant library using the known DNA sequence to synthesize an oligonucleotide probe. A labelled oligonucleotide having a sequence complementary to that of a gene of the present invention is then used to screen a library of cDNA, genomic DNA or mRNA to determine to which members of the library the probe hybridizes.

The nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides of the present invention may be employed as reagents and materials for the development or manufacture of medicaments and/or diagnostics for diseases, particularly human disease, as further discussed herein.

The nucleic acid molecules of the present invention that are oligonucleotides can be used in the processes herein as described, but preferably for PCR, to determine whether or not the B. burgdorferi s.l. genes identified herein in whole or in part are present and/or transcribed in infected tissue such as skin, synovia or blood. It is recognized that such sequences will also have utility in diagnosis of the stage of infection and type of infection the pathogen has attained. For this and other purposes arrays which are known as such in the art, comprising at least one of the nucleic acids or polypeptides according to the present invention as described herein, may be used.

The nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention may be used for the detection of nucleic acid molecules and organisms or samples containing these nucleic acids. Preferably such detection is for diagnosis, more preferable for the diagnosis of a disease related or linked to the present or abundance of B. burgdorferi s.s. or any other pathogen species of Borrelia, preferably B. afzelii or B. garinii.

Eukaryotes (herein also “individual(s)”), particularly mammals, and especially humans, infected with B. burgdorferi s.s. or any other pathogen species of Borrelia, preferably B. afzelii or B. garinii can be identified by detecting any of the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention detected at the DNA level by a variety of techniques. Preferred nucleic acid molecules candidates for distinguishing B. burgdorferi s.s. or said other pathogenic Borrelia. from other organisms can be obtained.

The invention provides a process for diagnosing disease, arising from infection with B. burgdorferi s.s. or any other pathogen species of Borrelia, preferably B. afzelii or B. garinii, comprising determining from a sample isolated or derived from an individual an increased level of expression of a nucleic acid molecule having the sequence of a nucleic acid molecule as disclosed herein and more preferably set forth in the Sequence Listing. Expression of nucleic acid molecules can be measured using any one of the methods well known in the art for the quantification of nucleic acid molecules, such as, for example, PCR, RT-PCR, RNase protection, Northern blotting, other hybridisation methods and the arrays described herein.

Isolated as used herein means separated “by the hand of man” from its natural state; i.e., that, if it occurs in nature, it has been changed or removed from its original environment, or both. For example, a naturally occurring nucleic acid molecule or a polypeptide naturally present in to a living organism in its natural state is not “isolated”, but the same nucleic acid molecule or polypeptide separated from the coexisting materials of its natural state is “isolated”, as the term is employed herein. As part of or following isolation, such nucleic acid molecules can be joined to other nucleic acid molecules, such as DNAs, for mutagenesis, to form fusion proteins, and for propagation or expression in a host, for instance. The isolated nucleic acid molecules, alone or joined to other nucleic acid molecules such as vectors, can be introduced into host cells, in culture or in whole organisms. Introduced into host cells in culture or in whole organisms, such DNAs still would be isolated, as the term is used herein, because they would not be in their naturally occurring form or environment. Similarly, the nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides may occur in a composition, such as a media formulations, solutions for introduction of nucleic acid molecules or polypeptides, for example, into cells, compositions or solutions for chemical or enzymatic reactions, for instance, which are not naturally occurring compositions, and, therein remain isolated nucleic acid molecules or polypeptides within the meaning of that term as it is employed herein.

The nucleic acids according to the present invention may be chemically synthesized. Alternatively, the nucleic acids can be isolated from B. burgdorferi s.s. or any other pathogen species of Borrelia, preferably B. afzelii or B. garinii by methods known to the one skilled in the art. The same applies to the polypeptides according to the present invention.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a comprehensive set of novel polypeptides is provided. Such polypeptide, as mentioned previously herein, are proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and antigens as disclosed herein, and the fragments thereof, preferably the active fragments thereof, and the variants thereof, preferably the active variants thereof. Preferably, the polypeptides according to the present invention are hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen comprising an amino acid sequence being preferably encoded by any one of the nucleic acids molecules and fragments thereof as described herein, are provided. In another preferred embodiment of the invention a novel set of proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and antigens, and active fragments as well as active variant thereof is provided which comprise amino acid sequences selected from the group comprising Seq ID Nos 135 to 268, 388 to 506 or 629 to 750.

Especially preferred polypeptides according to the present invention, or fragments thereof, are those which are listed in Tables 8 and 10.

The polypeptides according to the present invention, i.e. the proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and antigens, as provided by the present invention preferably include any polypeptide or molecule set forth in the Sequence Listing as well as polypeptides which have at least 70% identity to such polypeptide according to the present invention, preferably at least 80% or 85% identity to such polypeptide according to the present invention, and more preferably at least 90% similarity (more preferably at least 90% identity) to such polypeptide according to the present invention and more preferably as set forth in the Sequence Listing and still more preferably at least 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 99.5% similarity (still more preferably at least 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 99.5% identity) to such polypeptide according to the present invention and also include portions of such polypeptides with such portion of the polypeptide generally containing at least 4 amino acids and more preferably at least 8, still more preferably at least 30, still more preferably at least 50 amino acids, such as 4, 8, 10, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45 or 50 amino acids. In a preferred embodiment such portions are active fragments of the polypeptides according to the present invention.

The invention also relates to fragments, analogs, and derivatives of the polypeptides according to the present invention, and fragments thereof and variant thereof. The terms “fragment”, “derivative” and “analog” when referring to such polypeptide according to the present invention whose amino acid sequence is preferably set forth in the Sequence Listing, preferably means a polypeptide which retains either individually or in any combination essentially the same or a similar biological function or activity, and/or the same or a similar structural attribute as such polypeptide. It will be acknowledged by the ones skilled in the art that the meaning of the term “similar biological function or activity” as used herein preferably depends on the polypeptide under consideration and more specifically its function. More preferably, a similar biological function or activity differs from the function of the non-fragment or the non-derivative in terms of one or several of the chemical, biological or other activity of such polypeptide according to the present invention. More preferably, the biological function or activity is defined by the extent of activity, affinity, antigenicity, to preferably expressed as the antigenic index, immunogenicity, stability and/or specificity. In a preferred embodiment the difference is less than 50%, less than 75% or less than 90%. Particularly preferred fragments, analogs and derivatives are those comprising receptors or domains of enzymes that confer a function essential for viability of B. burgdorferi s.s. or any other pathogenic Borrelia species, or the ability to cause disease in humans. Further preferred fragments, analogs and derivatives of the polypeptides according to the present invention are those that comprise or contain antigenic or immunogenic determinants in an animal, especially in a human. Such fragments are also referred to as antigenic fragments, antigenic derivatives and antigenic analogs, respectively. It is also within an embodiment of the present invention that such similar biological function or activity is a decrease in undesirable activity. Preferably such decrease is at least 10%, preferably at least 20% and more preferably at least 50% of such activity exhibited by the polypeptide according to the present invention. In a particularly preferred embodiment such decreased undesirable activity is enzymatic and toxic function and/or generation of human cross-reactive antibodies. It will also be acknowledged by the ones skilled in the art that the meaning of the term “similar structural attribute” as used herein preferably depends on the polypeptide under consideration and more specifically its function and/or its structure. In a preferred embodiment such structural attributes are alpha-helix and alpha-helix forming regions, beta-sheet and beta-sheet forming regions, turn and turn-forming regions, coil and coil-forming regions, hydrophilic regions, hydrophobic regions, alpha-amphipathic regions, beta-amphipathic regions, flexible regions, surface-forming regions, substrate binding regions, and high antigenic index regions of the polypeptide according to the present invention, and combinations thereof.

In an embodiment the fragment, derivative, variant or analog of a polypeptide according to the present invention is 1) one in which one or more of the amino acid residues are substituted with a conserved or non-conserved amino acid residue (preferably a conserved amino acid residue) and such substituted amino acid residue may or may not be one encoded by the genetic code, or 2) one in which one or more of the amino acid residues includes a substituent group, or 3) one in the polypeptide according to the present invention or a fragment thereof is fused with another compound, such as a compound to increase the half-life of the polypeptide according to the present invention thereof such as, for example, polyethylene glycol, or 4) one in which the additional amino acids are fused to the to polypeptide according to the present invention or a fragment thereof, such as a leader or secretory sequence or a sequence which is employed for purification of said polypeptide according to the present invention or fragment thereof or a proprotein sequence. Such fragments, derivatives, variant and analogs are deemed to be within the scope of those skilled in the art from the teachings herein.

The present invention also relates to proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and antigens of different B. burgdorferi s.s. isolates and isolates from other Borrelia species, preferably pathogenic Borrelia species including B. afzelii and B. garinii which are preferably homologues. Such homologues may easily be isolated based on the nucleic acid and amino acid sequences disclosed herein. There are multiple serotypes or clinical strains distinguished to date for each of the pathogens and the typing is based on serotype specific antisera or molecular approaches. The presence of any antigen can accordingly be determined for every serotype. In addition, it is possible to determine the variability of a particular antigen in the various Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. genospecies and strains as described for ospC (Livey, I. et al., 1995). The contribution of the various serotypes to the different Borrelia infections varies in different age groups and especially geographical regions. It is an important aspect that the most valuable protective antigens need to be conserved among various clinical strains.

Additionally, fusion polypeptides comprising such hyperimmune serum reactive antigens, variants, analogs, derivatives and fragments thereof, and variants, analogs and derivatives of the fragments are also encompassed by the present invention. Such fusion polypeptides and proteins, as well as nucleic acid molecules encoding them, can readily be made using standard techniques, including standard recombinant techniques for producing and expression of a recombinant polynucleic acid encoding a fusion protein.

Among preferred variants are those that vary from a reference by conservative amino acid substitutions. Such substitutions are those that substitute a given amino acid in a polypeptide according to the present invention by another amino acid of like characteristics. Typically seen as conservative substitutions are the replacements, one for another, among the aliphatic amino acids Ala, Val, Leu and Ile; interchange of the hydroxyl residues Ser and Thr, to exchange of the acidic residues Asp and Glu, substitution between the amide residues Asn and Gln, exchange of the basic residues Lys and Arg and replacements among the aromatic residues Phe and Tyr.

Further particularly preferred in this regard are variants, analogs, derivatives and fragments, and variants, analogs and derivatives of the fragments, having the amino acid sequence of any polypeptide according to the present invention as disclosed herein and preferably set forth in the Sequence Listing, in which several, a few, 5 to 10, 1 to 5, 1 to 3, 2, 1 or no amino acid residues are substituted, deleted or added, in any combination. Especially preferred among these are silent substitutions, additions and deletions, which do not alter the properties and activities of the peptide of the present invention. Also especially preferred in this regard are conservative substitutions. Most highly preferred are peptides having an amino acid sequence set forth in the Sequence Listing without substitutions.

The polypeptides according to the present invention are preferably provided in an isolated form, and preferably are purified to homogeneity.

An antigenic fragment is preferably defined as a fragment, which is for itself antigenic or may be made antigenic when provided as a hapten. Therefore, also antigens or antigenic fragments showing one or, particularly for longer fragments, only a few amino acid exchanges are enabled by the present invention, provided that the antigenicity or antigenic capacities of such fragments with amino acid exchanges are not severely deteriorated on the exchange(s), i.e., suited for eliciting an appropriate immune response in an individual vaccinated with this antigen and identified by individual antibody preparations from individual sera.

Preferred examples of such fragments of the polypeptides according to the present invention are those which may also be taken from Tables 1, 5, 6, 8 and 10 and which are preferably those corresponding to the antigen in accordance with the eighth aspect of the present invention in its diverse embodiments, more preferably having or comprising the core amino acid sequence indicated in connection therewith.

All these fragments individually and each independently form a preferred selected aspect of the present invention.

It will be appreciated that the invention also relates to, among others, nucleic acid molecules encoding the aforementioned fragments, variants, active variants, and active fragments, nucleic acid molecules that hybridise to nucleic acid molecules encoding the fragments, variants, active variants, and active fragments, particularly those that hybridise under stringent conditions, and nucleic acid molecules, such as PCR primers, for amplifying nucleic acid molecules that encode the fragments. In these regards, preferred nucleic acid molecules are those that correspond to the preferred fragments, as discussed above.

The present invention also relates to vectors, which comprise a nucleic acid molecule or nucleic acid molecules of the present invention, host cells which are genetically engineered with vectors of the invention and the production of the polypeptides according to the present invention by recombinant techniques.

A great variety of expression vectors can be used to express the polypeptides according to the present invention. Generally, any vector suitable to maintain, propagate or express nucleic acids to express a polypeptide in a host may be used for expression in this regard. In accordance with this aspect of the invention the vector may be, for example, a plasmid vector, a single or double-stranded phage vector, a single or double-stranded RNA or DNA viral vector. Starting plasmids disclosed herein are either commercially available, publicly available, or can be constructed from available plasmids by routine application of well-known, published procedures. Preferred among vectors, in certain respects, are those for expression of nucleic acid molecules and the polypeptides according to the present invention. Nucleic acid constructs in host cells can be used in a conventional manner to produce the gene product encoded by the recombinant sequence. Alternatively, the polypeptides according to the preset invention can be synthetically produced by conventional peptide synthesizers. Mature proteins can be expressed in mammalian cells, yeast, bacteria, or other cells under the control of appropriate promoters. Cell-free translation systems can also be employed to produce such proteins using RNAs derived from the DNA construct of the present invention.

Host cells can be genetically engineered to incorporate nucleic acid molecules and express nucleic acid molecules of the present invention. Representative examples of appropriate hosts include bacterial cells, such as streptococci, staphylococci, E. coli, Streptomyces and Bacillus subtillis cells; fungal cells, such as yeast cells and Aspergillus cells; insect cells such as Drosophila S2 and Spodoptera Sf9 cells; animal cells such as CHO, COS, HeLa, C127, 3T3, BHK, 293 and Bowes melanoma cells; and plant cells.

The polypeptides according to the present invention may be expressed in a modified form, such as a fusion protein, and may include not only secretion signals but also additional heterologous functional regions. Thus, for instance, a region of additional amino acids, particularly charged amino acids, may be added to the N- or C-terminus of the polypeptide to improve stability and persistence in the host cell, during purification or during subsequent handling and storage. Also, regions may be added to the polypeptide to facilitate purification. Such regions may be removed prior to final preparation of the polypeptide. The addition of peptide moieties to polypeptides to engender secretion or excretion, to improve stability or to facilitate purification, among others, are familiar and routine techniques in the art. A preferred fusion protein comprises a heterologous region from immunoglobulin that is useful to solubilize or purify polypeptides. For example, EP 0 464 533 (Canadian counterpart 2045869) discloses fusion proteins comprising various portions of constant region of immunoglobin molecules together with another protein or part thereof. In drug discovery, for example, proteins have been fused with antibody Fc portions for the purpose of high-throughout screening assays to identify antagonists. See for example, (Bennett, D. et al., 1995) and (Johanson, K. et al., 1995). Fusions also may include the polypeptides according to the present invention fused or coupled to moieties other than amino acids, including lipids and carbohydrates. Further, antigens of this invention may be employed in combination with other vaccinal agents described by the prior art, as well as with other species of vaccinal agents derived from other microorganisms. Such proteins are useful in the prevention, treatment and diagnosis of diseases caused by a wide spectrum of Borrelia isolates. In a further embodiment the peptide of the invention is fused to an epitope tag which provides an epitope to which an anti-tag substance can selectively bind. The epitope tag is generally placed at the amino- or carboxyl-terminus of the peptide but may be incorporated as an to internal insertion or substitution as the biological activity permits. The presence of such epitope-tagged forms of a peptide can be detected using a substance such as an antibody against the tagged peptide. Also, provision of the epitope tag enables the peptide to be readily purified by affinity purification using an anti-tag antibody or another type of affinity matrix that binds to the epitope tag. Various tag polypeptides and their respective antibodies are well known in the art. Examples include poly-histidine (poly-his), poly-histidine-glycine (poly-his-gly) tags, the HA tag polypeptide, the c-myc tag, the Strep tag and the FLAG tag.

The polypeptides according to the present invention can be recovered and purified from recombinant cell cultures by well-known methods including ammonium sulfate or ethanol precipitation, acid extraction, anion or cation exchange chromatography, phosphocellulose chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography and lectin chromatography.

The polypeptides according to the present invention can be produced by chemical synthesis as well as by biotechnological means. The latter comprise the transfection or transformation of a host cell with a vector containing a nucleic acid according to the present invention and the cultivation of the transfected or transformed host cell under conditions, which are known to the ones skilled in the art. The production method may also comprise a purification step in order to purify or isolate the polypeptide to be manufactured. In a preferred embodiment the vector is a vector according to the present invention.

The polypeptide according to the present invention may be used for the detection of the organism or organisms in a sample containing these organisms or proteins, hyperimmune serum reactive antigens or antigens, including fragments thereof. Preferably such detection is for diagnosis, more preferable for the diagnosis of a disease, most preferably for the diagnosis of a disease related or linked to the presence or abundance of Gram-negative bacteria, especially bacteria selected from the group comprising pathogenic Borrelia species including but not necessary limited to B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi s.s., B. garinii, B. lusitaniae and B. valaisiana, more preferably selected from the group comprising Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii.

The nucleic acids according to the present invention can also be used for the diagnosis or detection of organisms or organisms in a sample, whereby the organisms are preferably the same ones as disclosed in connection with the use of the polypeptides according to the present invention and the antibody according to the present invention, respectively. Basically, it is within the skills of the person of the art to design and practice such diagnosis and detection assays and methods, respectively, in the light of the present disclosure. More preferably such diagnosis or detection uses primers or probes to specifically interact with the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention. The length and design of such primers and probes, respectively, varies depending on the particular method or diagnosis practiced. Using, in a preferred embodiment, a primer for, e.g., a PCR based detection or diagnosis system, i.e. method or assay, the length of the primer will range from about 10 nucleotides to about 30 nucleotides and more preferably from about 16 to 25 nucleotides. In case of a probe based detection or diagnosis system the length of the probe is preferably about the same as specified for the primer based system. Additionally, in case of a probe based system, the probe will comprise a moiety which allows its detection, either directly or indirectly. Such moiety for direct detection can be a radioactive label or a fluorescence label as known to the ones skilled in the art. Such moiety for indirect detection can be a biotin or any other moiety which mediates interaction with a further compound which in turn is labelled so as to allow its detection.

The present invention also relates to diagnostic assays such as quantitative and diagnostic assays for detecting levels of the polypeptides according to the present invention and more preferably hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof of the present invention in cells and tissues, including determination of normal and abnormal levels. Thus, for instance, a diagnostic assay in accordance with the invention for detecting over-expression of the polypeptides according to the present invention compared to normal control tissue samples may be used to detect the presence of an infection, for example, and to identify the infecting organism. Assay techniques that can be used to determine levels of such polypeptides in a sample derived from a host are well known to those of skill in the art. Such assay methods include radioimmunoassays, competitive-binding assays, Western Blot analysis and ELISA assays. Among these, ELISA and Western Blot analysis frequently are preferred. An ELISA assay initially comprises preparing an antibody specific to one of the polypeptides according to the present invention, preferably a monoclonal antibody. In addition, a reporter antibody generally is prepared which binds to the monoclonal antibody. The reporter antibody is attached to a detectable reagent such as radioactive, fluorescent or enzymatic reagent, such as horseradish peroxidase enzyme. One or several of the polypeptides according to the present invention and more preferably a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen and fragment thereof according to the present invention may be immobilized on ELISA plates for detection of reactive antibodies in sera of patients or subjects to be tested.

A Western blot assay initially separates the polypeptides according to the present invention individually or in combination by SDS-polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis and which subsequently are transferred and immobilized onto a solid support matrix, such as nitrocellulose, nylon or combinations thereof. Together with a reporter antibody reactive antibodies can be detected. The reporter antibody is attached to a detectable reagent such as radioactive, fluorescent or enzymatic reagent, such as horseradish peroxidase enzyme.

The polypeptides according to the present invention or the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention or primers or probes directed thereto as described herein, may also be used for the purpose of or in connection with an array. In case of the nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention and the primers and probes directed thereagainst, the length of the probes and the primer, can also preferably be in the range from about 25 to about 75 nucleotides, more preferably from about 35 to about 50 nucleotides. More particularly, at least one of the polypeptides according to the present invention may be immobilized on a support. Said support typically comprises a variety of the polypeptides according to the present invention and/or hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof whereby the variety may be created by using one or several of the hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof according to the present invention and/or hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof being different. The characterizing feature of such array as well as of any array in general is the fact that at a distinct or predefined region or position on said support or a surface thereof, a distinct polypeptide is immobilized. Because of this any activity at a distinct position or region of an array can be correlated with a specific polypeptide. The number of different polypeptides and more preferably different hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof immobilized on a support may range from as little as 10 to several 1,000 different polypeptides and hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof, respectively. The density of said molecules per cm² is in a preferred embodiment as little as 10 per cm² to at least 400 different of such polypeptides per cm² and more particularly at least 1,000 different of such polypeptides and more preferably different hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof per cm². What is said herein about the immobilization of the polypeptides according to the present invention and their use, is also applicable to the nucleic acid molecules and the primers and probes, respectively, directed thereagainst, as will be acknowledged by the ones skilled in the art.

The manufacture of such arrays is known to the one skilled in the art and, for example, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,309. The array preferably comprises a planar, porous or non-porous solid support having at least a first surface. The polypeptides according to the present invention are immobilized on said surface. Preferred support materials are, among others, glass or cellulose. It is also within the present invention that the array is used for any of the diagnostic applications described herein. Apart from the polypeptides according to the present invention also the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention may be used for the generation of an array as described above which, in principle, can be used for any of the purposes disclosed for the array containing polypeptides. This applies as well to an array made of antibodies, preferably monoclonal antibodies as, among others, described herein.

In a further aspect the present invention relates to an antibody directed to any of polypeptides according to the present invention, derivatives, fragments, variants, active fragments and active variants thereof according to the present invention. The present invention includes, for example, monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, chimeric, single chain, and humanized antibodies, as well as Fab fragments, or the product of a Fab expression library. It is within the present invention that the antibody may be chimeric, i.e. that different parts thereof stem from different species or at least the respective sequences are taken from different species.

Such antibodies in general and in particular directed against the hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof corresponding to a sequence of the present invention can be obtained by direct injection of a polypeptide according to the present invention into an animal or by administering said polypeptide to an animal, preferably a non-human. The antibody so obtained will then bind said polypeptide itself. In this manner, even a sequence encoding only a fragment said polypeptide can be used to generate antibodies binding the whole native polypeptides according to the present invention. Such antibodies can then be used to isolate the polypeptide according to the present invention from tissue expressing those hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof. It will be understood by the ones skilled in the art that this procedure is also applicable to the fragments, variants, active fragments and active variants thereof of said polypeptides.

For preparation of monoclonal antibodies, any technique known in the art, which provides antibodies produced by continuous cell line cultures can be used (as described originally in (Kohler, G. et al., 1975).

Techniques described for the production of single chain antibodies (U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778) can be adapted to produce single chain antibodies to immunogenic hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof in their diverse embodiments according to this invention. Also, transgenic mice, or other organisms such as other mammals, may be used to express humanized antibodies to the polypeptides according to the present invention.

Alternatively, phage display technology or ribosomal display could be utilized to select antibody genes with binding activities towards the polypeptides according to the present invention either from repertoires of PCR amplified v-genes of lymphocytes from humans screened for possessing respective target antigens or from naïve libraries (McCafferty, J. et al., 1990; Marks, J. et al., 1992). The affinity of these antibodies can also be improved by chain shuffling (Clackson, T. et al., 1991).

If two antigen binding domains are present, each domain may be directed against a different epitope—termed ‘bispecific’ antibodies.

Preferably the antibody or derivative thereof is modified to make it less immunogenic in the to individual. For example, if the individual is human the antibody may most preferably be “humanized”, wherein the complementarity determining region(s) of the hybridoma-derived antibody has been transplanted into a human monoclonal antibody, for example as described in (Jones, P. et al., 1986) or (Tempest, P. et al., 1991).

The above-described antibodies may be employed to isolate or to identify clones expressing the polypeptides according to the present invention by attachment of the antibody to a solid support for isolation and/or purification by affinity chromatography.

Thus, among others, antibodies against the polypeptides according to the present invention may be employed to inhibit and/or treat infections, particularly bacterial infections and especially infections arising from pathogenic Borrelia species, preferably B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii.

The polypeptides according to the present invention and more specifically hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof in their diverse embodiments include antigenically, epitopically or immunologically equivalent derivatives, which form a particular aspect of this invention. The term “antigenically equivalent derivative” as used herein encompasses such polypeptide according to the present invention or its equivalent which will be specifically recognized by certain antibodies which, when raised to said polypeptide, interfere with the interaction between pathogen and mammalian host. The term “immunologically equivalent derivative” as used herein encompasses a peptide or its equivalent which when used in a suitable formulation to raise antibodies in a vertebrate, the antibodies act to interfere with the interaction between pathogen and mammalian host.

The polypeptides according to the present invention and more specifically the hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof in their diverse embodiments, such as an antigenically or immunologically equivalent derivative or a fusion protein thereof can be used as an antigen to immunize a mouse or other animal such as a rat or chicken. The fusion protein may provide stability to the polypeptide according to the present invention. Such polypeptide may be associated, for example by conjugation, with an immunogenic carrier to protein, for example bovine serum albumin (BSA) or keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH). Alternatively, an antigenic peptide comprising multiple copies of the polypeptide according to the present invention and more preferably a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen and fragments thereof, or an antigenically or immunologically equivalent hyperimmune serum reactive antigen and fragments thereof, may be sufficiently antigenic to improve immunogenicity so as to obviate the use of a carrier.

The use of a nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention in genetic immunization will preferably employ a suitable delivery method such as direct injection of plasmid DNA into muscle, delivery of DNA complexed with specific protein carriers, coprecipitation of DNA with calcium phosphate, encapsulation of DNA in various forms of liposomes, particle bombardment (Tang, D. et al., 1992), (Eisenbraun, M. et al., 1993) and in vivo infection using cloned retroviral vectors (Seeger, C. et al., 1984).

In a further aspect the present invention relates to a peptide binding to any of the polypeptides according to the present invention, and a method for the manufacture of such peptides whereby the method is characterized by the use of said polypeptide and the basic steps are known to the one skilled in the art.

Such peptides may be generated by using methods according to the state of the art such as phage display or ribosome display. In case of phage display, basically a library of peptides is generated, in form of phages, and this kind of library is contacted with the target molecule, in the present case a polypeptide according to the present invention. Those peptides binding to the target molecule are subsequently removed, preferably as a complex with the target molecule, from the respective reaction. It is known to the one skilled in the art that the binding characteristics, at least to a certain extent, depend on the particularly realized experimental set-up such as the salt concentration and the like. After separating those peptides binding to the target molecule with a higher affinity or a bigger force, from the non-binding members of the library, and optionally also after removal of the target molecule from the complex of target molecule and peptide, the respective peptide(s) may subsequently be characterized. Prior to the characterisation optionally an amplification step is realized such as, e.g. by propagating the peptide encoding phages. The characterisation preferably comprises the sequencing of the target binding peptides. Basically, the peptides are not limited in their lengths, however preferably peptides having a length from about 8 to 20 amino acids are preferably obtained in the respective methods. The size of the libraries may be about 10² to 10¹⁸, preferably 10⁸ to 10¹⁵ different peptides, however, is not limited thereto. In a preferred embodiment such peptides are high-affinity binding peptides. In an even more preferred embodiment the peptides are peptide aptamers.

A particular form of target binding peptides as described above, are the so-called “anticalines” which are, among others, described in German patent application DE 197 42 706. In so far, the present invention is also related to peptides specifically binding to the polypeptides according to the present invention and the use thereof for any of the therapeutic and diagnostic applications described herein, preferably for antibodies.

In a further aspect the present invention relates to functional nucleic acids interacting with any of the polypeptides according to the present invention, and a method for the manufacture of such functional nucleic acids whereby the method is characterized by the use of the polypeptides according to the present invention and the basic steps are known to the one skilled in the art. The functional nucleic acids are preferably aptamers and spiegelmers. In so far, the present invention is also related to aptamers and spiegelmers specifically binding to the polypeptides according to the present invention and the use thereof for any of the therapeutic and diagnostic applications described herein, preferably for antibodies.

Aptamers are D-nucleic acids, which are either single stranded or double stranded and which specifically interact with a target molecule. The manufacture or selection of aptamers is, e.g. described in European patent EP 0 533 838. Basically the following steps are realized. First, a mixture of nucleic acids, i.e. potential aptamers, is provided whereby each nucleic acid typically comprises a segment of several, preferably at least eight subsequent randomized nucleotides. This mixture is subsequently contacted with the target molecule whereby the nucleic acid(s) bind to the target molecule, such as based on an increased affinity towards the target or with a bigger force thereto, compared to the candidate mixture. The binding nucleic acid(s) are/is subsequently separated from the remainder of the mixture. Optionally, the thus obtained nucleic acid(s) is amplified using, e.g. polymerase chain reaction. These steps may be repeated several times giving at the end a mixture having an increased ratio of nucleic acids specifically binding to the target from which the final binding nucleic acid is then optionally selected. These specifically binding nucleic acid(s) are referred to as aptamers. It is obvious that at any stage of the method for the generation or identification of the aptamers samples of the mixture of individual nucleic acids may be taken to determine the sequence thereof using standard techniques. It is within the present invention that the aptamers may be stabilized such as, e.g., by introducing defined chemical groups which are known to the one skilled in the art of generating aptamers. Such modification may for example reside in the introduction of an amino group at the 2′-position of the sugar moiety of the nucleotides. Aptamers are currently used as therapeutic agents. However, it is also within the present invention that the thus selected or generated aptamers may be used for target validation and/or as lead substance for the development of medicaments, preferably of medicaments based on small molecules. This is actually done by a competition assay whereby the specific interaction between the target molecule and the aptamer is inhibited by a candidate drug whereby upon replacement of the aptamer from the complex of target and aptamer it may be assumed that the respective drug candidate allows a specific inhibition of the interaction between target and aptamer, and if the interaction is specific, said candidate drug will, at least in principle, be suitable to block the target and thus decrease its biological availability or activity in a respective system comprising such target. The thus obtained small molecule may then be subject to further derivatisation and modification to optimise its physical, chemical, biological and/or medical characteristics such as toxicity, specificity, biodegradability and bioavailability.

Spiegelmers and their generation or manufacture is based on a similar principle. The manufacture of spiegelmers is described in international patent application WO 98/08856. Spiegelmers are L-nucleic acids, which means that they are composed of L-nucleotides rather than D-nucleotides as aptamers are. Spiegelmers are characterized by the fact that they have a very high stability in biological systems and, comparable to aptamers, specifically interact with the target molecule against which they are directed. In the process of generating spiegelmers, a heterogeneous population of D-nucleic acids is created and this population is contacted with the optical antipode of the target molecule, in the present case for example with the D-enantiomer of the naturally occurring L-enantiomer of the hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof according to the present invention. Subsequently, those D-nucleic acids are separated which do not interact with the optical antipode of the target molecule. But those D-nucleic acids interacting with the optical antipode of the target molecule are separated, optionally identified and/or sequenced and subsequently the corresponding L-nucleic acids are synthesized based on the nucleic acid sequence information obtained from the D-nucleic acids. These L-nucleic acids, which are identical in terms of sequence with the aforementioned D-nucleic acids interacting with the optical antipode of the target molecule, will specifically interact with the naturally occurring target molecule rather than with the optical antipode thereof. Similar to the method for the generation of aptamers it is also possible to repeat the various steps several times and thus to enrich those nucleic acids specifically interacting with the optical antipode of the target molecule.

In a further aspect the present invention relates to functional nucleic acids interacting with any of the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention, and a method for the manufacture of such functional nucleic acids whereby the method is characterized by the use of the nucleic acid molecules and their respective sequences according to the present invention and the basic steps are known to the one skilled in the art. The functional nucleic acids are preferably ribozymes, antisense oligonucleotides and siRNA. In so far, the present invention is also related to this kind of functional nucleic acid specifically binding to the polypeptides according to the present invention and the use thereof for any of the therapeutic and diagnostic applications described herein, preferably for antibodies.

Ribozymes are catalytically active nucleic acids, which preferably consist of RNA, which basically comprises two moieties. The first moiety shows a catalytic activity whereas the second moiety is responsible for the specific interaction with the target nucleic acid, in the present case the nucleic acid coding for the polypeptides according to the present invention. Upon interaction between the target nucleic acid and the second moiety of the ribozyme, typically by hybridisation and Watson-Crick base pairing of essentially complementary stretches of bases on the two hybridising strands, the catalytically active moiety may become active which means that it catalyses, either intramolecularly or intermolecularly, the target to nucleic acid in case the catalytic activity of the ribozyme is a phosphodiesterase activity. Subsequently, there may be a further degradation of the target nucleic acid, which in the end results in the degradation of the target nucleic acid as well as the protein derived from the said target nucleic acid. Ribozymes, their use and design principles are known to the one skilled in the art, and, for example described in (Doherty, E. et al., 2001) and (Lewin, A. et al., 2001).

The activity and design of antisense oligonucleotides for the manufacture of a medicament and as a diagnostic agent, respectively, is based on a similar mode of action. Basically, antisense oligonucleotides hybridise based on base complementarity, with a target RNA, preferably with a mRNA, thereby activating RNase H. RNase H is activated by both phosphodiester and phosphorothioate-coupled DNA. Phosphodiester-coupled DNA, however, is rapidly degraded by cellular nucleases with the exception of phosphorothioate-coupled DNA. These resistant, non-naturally occurring DNA derivatives do not inhibit RNase H upon hybridisation with RNA. In other words, antisense polynucleotides are only effective as DNA RNA hybrid complexes. Examples for this kind of antisense oligonucleotides are described, among others, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,902 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,912. In other words, based on the nucleic acid sequence of the target molecule which in the present case are the nucleic acid molecules for the hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof according to the present invention, either from the target protein from which a respective nucleic acid sequence may in principle be deduced, or by knowing the nucleic acid sequence as such, particularly the mRNA, suitable antisense oligonucleotides may be designed base on the principle of base complementarity.

Particularly preferred are antisense-oligonucleotides, which have a short stretch of phosphorothioate DNA (3 to 9 bases). A minimum of 3 DNA bases is required for activation of bacterial RNase H and a minimum of 5 bases is required for mammalian RNase H activation. In these chimeric oligonucleotides there is a central region that forms a substrate for RNase H that is flanked by hybridising “arms” comprised of modified nucleotides that do not form substrates for RNase H. The hybridising arms of the chimeric oligonucleotides may be modified such as by 2′-O-methyl or 2′-fluoro. Alternative approaches used methylphosphonate or phosphoramidate linkages in said arms. Further embodiments of the antisense oligonucleotide useful in the practice of the present invention are P-methoxyoligonucleotides, partial P-methoxyoligodeoxyribonucleotides or P-methoxyoligonucleotides.

Of particular relevance and usefulness for the present invention are those antisense oligonucleotides as more particularly described in the above two mentioned US patents. These oligonucleotides contain no naturally occurring 5′=>3′-linked nucleotides. Rather the oligonucleotides have two types of nucleotides: 2′-deoxyphosphorothioate, which activate RNase H, and 2′-modified nucleotides, which do not. The linkages between the 2′-modified nucleotides can be phosphodiesters, phosphorothioate or P-ethoxyphosphodiester. Activation of RNase H is accomplished by a contiguous RNase H-activating region, which contains between 3 and 5 2′-deoxyphosphorothioate nucleotides to activate bacterial RNase H and between 5 and 10 2′-deoxyphosphorothioate nucleotides to activate eukaryotic and, particularly, mammalian RNase H. Protection from degradation is accomplished by making the 5′ and 3′ terminal bases highly nuclease resistant and, optionally, by placing a 3′ terminal blocking group.

More particularly, the antisense oligonucleotide comprises a 5′ terminus and a 3′ terminus; and from position 11 to 59 5′=>3′-linked nucleotides independently selected from the group consisting of 2′-modified phosphodiester nucleotides and 2′-modified P-alkyloxyphosphotriester nucleotides; and wherein the 5′-terminal nucleoside is attached to an RNase H-activating region of between three and ten contiguous phosphorothioate-linked deoxyribonucleotides, and wherein the 3′-terminus of said oligonucleotide is selected from the group consisting of an inverted deoxyribonucleotide, a contiguous stretch of one to three phosphorothioate 2′-modified ribonucleotides, a biotin group and a P-alkyloxyphosphotriester nucleotide.

Also an antisense oligonucleotide may be used wherein not the 5′ terminal nucleoside is attached to an RNase H-activating region but the 3′ terminal nucleoside as specified above. Also, the 5′ terminus is selected from the particular group rather than the 3′ terminus of said oligonucleotide.

The nucleic acids as well as the polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments may be used as or for the manufacture of pharmaceutical compositions, especially vaccines. Preferably such pharmaceutical composition, preferably vaccine is, for the prevention or treatment of diseases caused by, related to or associated with Borrelia species, preferably pathogenic Borrelia genospecies and more preferably B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii. In so far another aspect of the invention relates to a method for inducing an immunological response in an individual, particularly a mammal, which comprises inoculating the individual with the polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments, or a fragment or variant thereof, adequate to produce antibodies to protect said individual from infection by the above microorganisms.

Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a method of inducing an immunological response in an individual which comprises, through gene therapy or otherwise, delivering a nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention, preferably functionally encoding hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof in their diverse embodiments, for expressing the polypeptide according to the present invention in vivo in order to induce an immunological response to produce antibodies or a cell mediated T cell response, either cytokine-producing T cells or cytotoxic T cells, to protect said individual from disease, whether that disease is already established within the individual or not. One-way of administering the gene is by accelerating it into the desired cells as a coating on particles or otherwise.

A further aspect of the invention relates to an immunological composition which, when introduced into a host capable of having induced within it an immunological response, induces an immunological response in such host, wherein the composition comprises recombinant DNA which codes for and expresses at least one of the polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments. The immunological response may be used therapeutically or prophylactically and may take the form of antibody immunity or cellular immunity such as that arising from CTL or CD4+T cells.

The polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments may be fused with a co-protein which may not by itself produce antibodies, but is capable of stabilizing the first protein and producing a fused protein which will have immunogenic and protective properties. This fused recombinant protein preferably further comprises an antigenic co-protein, such as Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) or beta-galactosidase, relatively large co-proteins which solubilise the protein and facilitate production and purification thereof. Moreover, the co-protein may act as an adjuvant in the sense of providing a generalized stimulation of the immune system. The co-protein may be attached to either the amino or carboxy terminus of the first protein.

Also provided by this invention are methods using the nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments in such genetic immunization experiments in animal models of infection with any of the Borrelia species described herein, most preferably B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii. Such molecules will be particularly useful for identifying protein epitopes able to provoke a prophylactic or therapeutic immune response. This approach can allow for the subsequent preparation of monoclonal antibodies of particular value from the requisite organ of the animal successfully resisting or clearing infection for the development of prophylactic agents or therapeutic treatments of the Borrelia species described herein and most preferably B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii, infection in mammals, particularly humans.

The polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments may be used as an antigen for vaccination of a host to produce specific antibodies which protect against invasion of bacteria, for example by blocking adherence of bacteria to damaged tissue. Examples of tissue damage and thus damaged tissue include wounds in skin or connective tissue and mucosal tissues caused e.g. by viral infection (esp. respiratory, such as the flu) mechanical, chemical or thermal damage or by implantation of indwelling devices, or wounds in the mucous membranes, such as the mouth, mammary glands, urethra or vagina.

The present invention also includes a vaccine formulation, which comprises one or several of polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments together with a suitable carrier. Since said polypeptides according to the present invention may be broken down in the stomach, they are preferably administered parenterally, including, for example, administration that is subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous, intradermal intranasal or transdermal. Formulations suitable for parenteral administration include aqueous and non-aqueous sterile injection solutions which may contain anti-oxidants, buffers, bacteriostats and solutes which render the formulation isotonic with the bodily fluid, preferably the blood, of the individual; and aqueous and non-aqueous sterile suspensions which may include suspending agents or thickening agents. The formulations may be presented in unit-dose or multi-dose containers, for example, sealed ampoules and vials, and may be stored in a freeze-dried condition requiring only the addition of the sterile liquid carrier immediately prior to use. The vaccine formulation may also include adjuvant systems for enhancing the immunogenicity of the formulation, such as oil-in-water systems and other systems known in the art. The dosage will depend on the specific activity of the vaccine and can be readily determined by routine experimentation.

According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising one or several of the polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments for the various Borrelia species described herein and most preferably B. burgdorferi s.l., B. afzelii or B. garinii. Such a pharmaceutical composition may comprise one, preferably at least two or more of said polypeptides against said Borrelia species. Optionally, such polypeptides may also be combined with antigens against even further pathogens in a combination pharmaceutical composition. Preferably, said pharmaceutical composition is a vaccine for preventing or treating an infection caused by a Borrelia species, more preferably a pathogenic Borrelia species such as B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii or B. garinii and/or other pathogens against which the antigens have been included in the vaccine. According to a further aspect, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention. Such a pharmaceutical composition may comprise one or more nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention encoding a polypeptide according to the present invention. Optionally, such nucleic acid molecules encoding the polypeptides according to the present invention are combined with nucleic acid molecules encoding antigens against other pathogens in a combination pharmaceutical composition. Preferably, said pharmaceutical composition is a vaccine for preventing or treating an infection caused by Borrelia species, more preferably pathogenic to Borrelia species as disclosed herein more preferably comprising B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii, and/or other pathogens against which the antigens have been included in the vaccine.

The pharmaceutical composition may contain any suitable auxiliary substances, such as buffer substances, stabilisers or further active ingredients, especially ingredients known in connection of pharmaceutical composition and/or vaccine production.

A preferable carrier/or excipient for the polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments, or a nucleic acid molecule according to the present invention is an immunostimulatory compound for further stimulating the immune response to the polypeptide according to the present invention or a coding nucleic acid molecule thereof. Preferably the immunostimulatory compound in the pharmaceutical preparation according to the present invention is selected from the group of polycationic substances, especially polycationic peptides, immunostimulatory nucleic acids molecules, preferably immunostimulatory deoxynucleotides, alum, Freund's complete adjuvants, Freund's incomplete adjuvants, neuroactive compounds, especially human growth hormone, or combinations thereof.

It is also within the scope of the present invention that the pharmaceutical composition, especially vaccine, comprises apart from one or several of the polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments and/or nucleic acid molecules coding thereof which are also in accordance with the present invention, other compounds which are biologically or pharmaceutically active. Preferably, the vaccine composition comprises at least one polycationic peptide. The polycationic compound(s) to be used according to the present invention may be any polycationic compound, which shows the characteristic effects according to the WO 97/30721. Preferred polycationic compounds are selected from basic polypeptides, organic polycations, basic polyamino acids or mixtures thereof. These polyamino acids should have a chain length of at least 4 amino acid residues (WO 97/30721). Especially preferred are substances like polylysine, polyarginine and polypeptides containing more than 20%, especially more than 50% of basic amino acids in a range of more than 8, especially more than 20, amino acid residues or mixtures thereof. Other preferred polycations and their pharmaceutical compositions are described in WO 97/30721 (e.g. polyethyleneimine) and WO 99/38528. Preferably these polypeptides contain between 20 and 500 amino acid residues, especially between 30 and 200 residues.

These polycationic compounds may be produced chemically or recombinantly or may be derived from natural sources.

Cationic (poly)peptides may also be anti-microbial with properties as reviewed in (Ganz, T., 1999). These (poly)peptides may be of prokaryotic or animal or plant origin or may be produced chemically or recombinantly (WO 02/13857). Peptides may also belong to the class of defensins (WO 02/13857). Sequences of such peptides can be, for example, found in the Antimicrobial Sequences Database.

Such host defence peptides or defensives are also a preferred form of the polycationic polymer according to the present invention. Generally, a compound allowing as an end product activation (or down-regulation) of the adaptive immune system, preferably mediated by APCs (including dendritic cells) is used as polycationic polymer.

Especially preferred for use as polycationic substances in the present invention are cathelicidin derived antimicrobial peptides or derivatives thereof (International patent application WO 02/13857, incorporated herein by reference), especially antimicrobial peptides derived from mammalian cathelicidin, preferably from human, bovine or mouse.

Polycationic compounds derived from natural sources include HIV-REV or HIV-TAT (derived cationic peptides, antennapedia peptides, chitosan or other derivatives of chitin) or other peptides derived from these peptides or proteins by biochemical or recombinant production. Other preferred polycationic compounds are cathelin or related or derived substances from cathelin. For example, mouse cathelin is a peptide, which has the amino acid sequence NH₂-RLAGLLRKGGEKIGEKLKKIGOKIKNFFQKLVPQPE-COOH (SEQ ID NO:752). Related or derived cathelin substances contain the whole or parts of the cathelin sequence with at least 15-20 amino acid residues. Derivations may include the substitution or modification of the natural amino acids by amino acids, which are not among the 20 standard amino acids. Moreover, further cationic residues may be introduced into such cathelin molecules. These cathelin molecules are preferred to be combined with the antigen. These cathelin molecules surprisingly have turned out to be also effective as an adjuvant for an antigen without the addition of further adjuvants. It is therefore possible to use such cathelin molecules as efficient adjuvants in vaccine formulations with or without further immunactivating substances.

Another preferred polycationic substance to be used in accordance with the present invention is a synthetic peptide containing at least 2 KLK-motifs separated by a linker of 3 to 7 hydrophobic amino acids (International patent application WO 02/32451, incorporated herein by reference).

The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may further comprise immunostimulatory nucleic acid(s). Immunostimulatory nucleic acids are e.g. neutral or artificial CpG containing nucleic acids, short stretches of nucleic acids derived from non-vertebrates or in form of short oligonucleotides (ODNs) containing non-methylated cytosine-guanine di-nucleotides (CpG) in a certain base context (e.g. described in WO 96/02555). Alternatively, also nucleic acids based on inosine and cytidine as e.g. described in the WO 01/93903, or deoxynucleic acids containing deoxy-inosine and/or deoxyuridine residues (described in WO 01/93905 and WO 02/095027, incorporated herein by reference) may preferably be used as immunostimulatory nucleic acids in connection with the present invention. Preferably, the mixtures of different immunostimulatory nucleic acids may be used according to the present invention.

It is also within the present invention that any of the aforementioned polycationic compounds is combined with any of the immunostimulatory nucleic acids as aforementioned. Preferably, such combinations are according to the ones as described in WO 01/93905, WO 02/32451, WO 01/54720, WO 01/93903, WO 02/13857 and WO 02/095027 and WO 03/047602, incorporated herein by reference.

In addition or alternatively such vaccine composition may comprise apart from the polypeptides according to the present invention, and the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention, preferably the coding nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention, a neuroactive compound. Preferably, the neuroactive compound is human growth factor as, e.g. described in WO 01/24822. Also preferably, the neuroactive compound is combined with any of the polycationic compounds and/or immunostimulatory nucleic acids as afore-mentioned.

Also, the pharmaceutical composition in accordance with the present invention is a pharmaceutical composition which comprises at least any of the following compounds or combinations thereof: the nucleic acid molecules according to the present invention, the polypeptides according to the present invention in their diverse embodiments, the vector according to the present invention, the cells according to the present invention, the antibody according to the present invention, the functional nucleic acids according to the present invention and the binding peptides such as the anticalines and high-affinity binding peptides and peptide aptamers, respectively, according to the present invention, any agonists and antagonists according to the present invention, preferably screened as described herein. In connection therewith any of these compounds may be employed in combination with a non-sterile or sterile carrier or carriers for use with cells, tissues or organisms, such as a pharmaceutical carrier suitable for administration to a subject. Such compositions comprise, for instance, a media additive or a therapeutically effective amount of a hyperimmune serum reactive antigen and fragments thereof of the invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient. Such carriers may include, but are not limited to, saline, buffered saline, dextrose, water, glycerol, ethanol and combinations thereof. The formulation should suit the mode of administration.

The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may be administered in any effective, convenient manner including, for instance, administration by topical, oral, anal, vaginal, intravenous, intraperitoneal, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intranasal, intratracheal or intradermal routes among others.

In therapy or as a prophylactic, the active agent of the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may be administered to an individual as an injectable composition, for example as a sterile aqueous dispersion, preferably isotonic.

Alternatively the composition, preferably the pharmaceutical composition may be formulated for topical application, for example in the form of ointments, creams, lotions, eye ointments, eye drops, ear drops, mouthwash, impregnated dressings and sutures and aerosols, and may contain appropriate conventional additives, including, for example, preservatives, solvents to assist drug penetration, and emollients in ointments and creams. Such topical formulations may also contain compatible conventional carriers, for example cream or ointment bases, and ethanol or oleyl alcohol for lotions. Such carriers may constitute from about 1% to about 98% by weight of the formulation; more usually they will constitute up to about 80% by weight of the formulation.

In addition to the therapy described above, the compositions of this invention may be used generally as a wound treatment agent to prevent adhesion of bacteria to matrix proteins exposed in wound tissue and for prophylactic use in dental treatment as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, antibiotic prophylaxis.

In a preferred embodiment the pharmaceutical composition is a vaccine composition. Preferably, such vaccine composition is conveniently in injectable form. Conventional adjuvants may be employed to enhance the immune response. A suitable unit dose for vaccination with a protein antigen is for adults between 0.02 to 3 μg antigen/per kg of body weight and for children between 0.2 to 10 μg antigen/per kg body weight, and such dose is preferably administered 1-3 times and with an interval of 2 to 24 weeks.

With the indicated dose range, no adverse toxicological effects are expected with the compounds of the invention, which would preclude their administration to suitable individuals.

In a further embodiment the present invention relates to diagnostic and pharmaceutical packs and kits comprising one or more containers filled with one or more of the ingredients of the aforementioned compositions of the invention. The ingredient(s) can be present in a useful amount, dosage, formulation or combination. Associated with such container(s) can be a notice in the form prescribed by a governmental agency regulating the manufacture, use or sale of pharmaceuticals or biological products, reflecting approval by the agency of the manufacture, use or sale of the product for human administration.

In connection with the present invention any disease related use as disclosed herein such as, e.g., use of the pharmaceutical composition or vaccine, is particularly a disease or diseased condition which is caused by, linked or associated with Borrelia, more preferably any pathogenic Borrelia species and more preferably any Borrelia species selected from B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii or B. garinii. In connection therewith it is to be noted that the various Borrelia species including B. burgdorferi s.l. comprise several genospecies and strains including those disclosed herein. A disease related, caused or associated with the bacterial infection to be prevented and/or treated according to the present invention includes Lyme borreliosis (Lyme disease). Further aspects, symptoms, stages and subgroups of Lyme borreliosis as well as specific groups of patients suffering from such disease as also disclosed herein, including in the introductory part, are incorporated herein by reference. More specifically, Lyme borreliosis generally occurs in stages, with remission and exacerbations with different clinical manifestation at each stage (Steere, 1989). Early infection stage 1 consists of localized infection of the skin, followed within days or weeks by stage 2, disseminated infection, and months to years later by stage 3, persistent infection. However, the infection is variable; some patients have only localized infections of the skin, while others display only later manifestations of the illness, such as arthritis. Different clinical syndromes of Lyme borreliosis are also caused by infection with diverse B. burgdorferi s.l. species. B. burgdorferi s.s. more often causes joint manifestations (arthritis) and heart problems, B. afzelii causes mainly dermal symptoms (EM and ACA), and B. garinii is mostly responsible for neuroborreliosis.

Localized infection—The most common symptom of stage 1 of an infection is erythema migrans, which occurs in 70-80% of infected people. This skin lesion is often followed by flu-like symptoms, such as myalgia, arthralgia, headache and fever. These non-specific symptoms occur in 50% of patients with erythema migrans.

Disseminated infection—During stage 2 the bacteria move into the blood stream from the site to of infection and to more distant tissues and organs. Neurological, cardiovascular and arthritic symptoms that occur in this stage include meningitis, cranial neuropathy and intermittent inflammatory arthritis.

Persistent infection—Stage 3 of the infection is chronic and occurs from months to years after the tick bite. The most common symptom in North America is rheumatoid arthritis, caused by an infection with B. burgdorferi s.s. Persistent infection of the central nervous system with B. garinii causes more severe neurological symptoms during stage 3, and a persistent infection of the skin with B. afzelii results in acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans.

It is within the present invention that each and any of the symptoms, diseases, disorders or syndromes described herein which are either directly or indirectly linked to or arise from a contact of an organism such as any animal or man with a Borrelia species, more preferably a pathogenic Borrelia species, and most preferably Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia andersonii, Borrelia bissettii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmani, Borrelia japonica, Borrelia tanukii, Borrelia turdae and Borrelia sinica are separately and independently indications, diseases or disorders in the meaning of the present invention. Accordingly and just by means of illustration, a disease in the sense of the present application is Lyme borreliosis as well as erythema migrans, neuroborreliosis and Lyme arthritis.

It is within the present invention that the disease for which the various compounds described herein can be used are also those diseases where the polypeptide according to the present invention is expressed or any disease where the compounds described herein such as the polypeptides according to the present invention, the vaccine, the antibody, and any aptamer and spiegelmer, respectively, are suitable for the treatment and/or diagnosis thereof. Such potential use can arise from cross-reactivity and homology, respectively. It understood by the ones skilled in the art that any disease described in connection with the pharmaceutical composition according to the present invention can be subject to the use of the medicament described herein, and vice versa.

In a still further embodiment the present invention is related to a screening method using any of the polypeptides according to the present invention or any of the nucleic acids according to the present invention. Screening methods as such are known to the one skilled in the art and can be designed such that an agonist or an antagonist is screened. In connection with such screening method preferably an antagonist is screened which in the present case inhibits or prevents the binding of any hyperimmune serum reactive antigen and fragment thereof according to the present invention to an interaction partner. Such interaction partner can be a naturally occurring interaction partner or a non-naturally occurring interaction partner.

The invention also provides a method for screening compounds to identify those, which enhance (agonist) or block (antagonist) the function of the polypeptides according to the present invention or of the nucleic acid molecules of the present invention, such as its interaction with a binding molecule. The method of screening may involve high-throughput.

For example, to screen for agonists or antagonists, the interaction partner of the nucleic acid molecule and nucleic acid, respectively, according to the present invention, maybe a synthetic reaction mix, a cellular compartment, such as a membrane, cell envelope or cell wall, or a preparation of any thereof, may be prepared from a cell that expresses a molecule that binds to the polypeptides according to the present invention. The preparation is incubated with labelled forms of such polypeptides in the absence or the presence of a candidate molecule, which may be an agonist or antagonist. The ability of the candidate molecule to bind the binding molecule is reflected in decreased binding of the labelled ligand. Molecules which bind gratuitously, i.e., without inducing the functional effects of said polypeptides, are most likely to be good antagonists. Molecules that bind well and elicit functional effects that are the same as or closely related to the polypeptides according to the present invention are good agonists.

The functional effects of potential agonists and antagonists may be measured, for instance, by determining the activity of a reporter system following interaction of the candidate molecule with a cell or appropriate cell preparation, and comparing the effect with that of polypeptides according to the present invention or molecules that elicit the same effects as said polypeptides. Reporter systems that may be useful in this regard include but are not limited to colorimetric labelled substrate converted into product, a reporter gene that is responsive to changes in the functional activity of the polypeptides according to the present invention, and binding assays known in the art.

Another example of an assay for antagonists is a competitive assay that combines the polypeptides according to the present invention and a potential antagonist with membrane-bound binding molecules, recombinant binding molecules, natural substrates or ligands, or substrate or ligand mimetics, under appropriate conditions for a competitive inhibition assay. The polypeptides according to the present invention can be labelled such as by radioactivity or a colorimetric compound, such that the molecule number of polypeptides according to the present invention bound to a binding molecule or converted to product can be determined accurately to assess the effectiveness of the potential antagonist.

Potential antagonists include small organic molecules, peptides, polypeptides and antibodies that bind to polypeptides according to the present invention and thereby inhibit or extinguish its activity. Potential antagonists may also be small organic molecules, a peptide, a polypeptide such as a closely related protein or antibody that binds to the same sites on a binding molecule without inducing functional activity of the polypeptides according to the present invention.

Potential antagonists include a small molecule, which binds to and occupies the binding site of the polypeptides according to the present invention thereby preventing binding to cellular binding molecules, such that normal biological activity is prevented. Examples of small molecules include but are not limited to small organic molecules, peptides or peptide-like molecules.

Other potential antagonists include antisense molecules (see Okano, H. et al., 1991; or OLIGODEOXYNUCLEOTIDES AS ANTISENSE INHIBITORS OF GENE EXPRESSION; CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. (1988), for a description of these molecules).

Preferred potential antagonists include derivatives of the hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof of the invention.

As used herein the activity of a polypeptide according to the present invention is its capability to bind to any of its interaction partner or the extent of such capability to bind to its or any interaction partner.

In a particular aspect, the invention provides the use of the polypeptides according to the present invention hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof, nucleic acid molecules or inhibitors of the invention to interfere with the initial physical interaction between a pathogen and mammalian host responsible for sequelae of infection. In particular the molecules of the invention may be used: i) in the prevention of adhesion of the Borrelia species as disclosed herein and more preferably the pathogenic species thereof such as B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii to mammalian extracellular matrix proteins; ii) to block bacterial adhesion between mammalian extracellular matrix proteins and bacterial proteins which mediate tissue reaction; iii) or lead to evasion of immune defense; iv) to block the normal progression of pathogenesis in infections initiated other than by the implantation of in-dwelling devices or by other surgical techniques, e.g. through inhibiting nutrient acquisition.

Each of the DNA coding sequences provided herein may be used in the discovery, development and/or manufacture of antibacterial compounds. The encoded protein upon expression can be used as a target for the screening of antibacterial drugs. Additionally, the DNA sequences encoding the amino terminal regions of the encoded protein or Shine-Delgarno or other translation facilitating sequences of the respective mRNA can be used to construct antisense sequences to control the expression of the coding sequence of interest.

The antagonists and agonists may be employed, for instance, to inhibit diseases arising from infection with Borrelia species including B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii such as Lyme borreliosis (Lyme disease).

In a still further aspect the present invention is related to an affinity device such affinity device comprises as least a support material and any of the polypeptides according to the to present invention, which is attached to the support material. Because of the specificity of said polypeptides for their target cells or target molecules or their interaction partners, said polypeptides allow a selective removal of their interaction partner(s) from any kind of sample applied to the support material provided that the conditions for binding are met. The sample may be a biological or medical sample, including but not limited to, fermentation broth, cell debris, cell preparation, tissue preparation, organ preparation, blood, urine, lymph liquid, liquor and the like.

The polypeptides according to the present invention may be attached to the matrix in a covalent or non-covalent manner. Suitable support material is known to the one skilled in the art and can be selected from the group comprising cellulose, silicon, glass, aluminium, paramagnetic beads, starch and dextrane.

The present invention is further illustrated by the following figures, tables, examples and the sequence listing, from which further features, embodiments and advantages may be taken. It is to be understood that the present examples are given by way of illustration only and not by way of limitation of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In connection with the present invention

FIG. 1 shows the characterization of human sera as sources of pathogen specific antibodies.

FIG. 2 shows the characterization of the libraries.

FIG. 3 shows the selection of bacterial cells by MACS using biotinylated human IgGs.

FIG. 4 shows the PCR analysis to determine the gene distribution of selected antigens in clinical isolates of the respective bacterial pathogen.

FIG. 5 shows examples for induction of epitope-specific antibodies in mice by immunization with E. coli lysates.

FIG. 6 shows the sero-conversion in mice as determined by Western blot analysis.

Table 1 shows the summary of all screens performed with genomic B. afzelii libraries and human serum.

Table 2 shows all genes identified from B. afzelii as antigens with homologous from B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii.

Table 3 shows the strains used for gene distribution analysis.

Table 4 shows the summary of the gene distribution analysis for a selected number of antigens in various strains of the respective bacterial species.

Table 5 shows the summary of mouse immunogenicity experiments.

Table 6 shows the summary of the peptide ELISA with human sera.

Table 7 FACS analysis with epitope sera generated in mice.

Table 8 Expressed and purified proteins tested in animals.

Table 9 Most probable number of cells (from Norman, R. L. and Kempe, L. L., 1960).

Table 10 Protection in mice.

The figures and tables to which it might be referred to in the specification are described in the following in more details.

FIG. 1 shows the characterization of human sera by measuring antibodies specific for B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. afzelii by immune assays. Total IgG antibody levels were measured by to standard ELISA (A) using total bacterial lysates prepared from B. burgdorferi s.s. Serum samples from Lyme borreliosis patients with different symptoms were analysed at two different serum dilutions. Results of representative experiments are shown for the 25 sera included in the four different serum pools with sera from people with different symptoms of Lyme borreliosis (Erythema migrans (EM), Neuroborreliosis (NB), Lyme arthritis (LA) and acrodermitis chronica atrophicans (ACA)) and two pools with sera from patients with mixed symptomes (LBI and LBII). Data are expressed as ELISA units calculated from absorbance at 405 nm at a serum dilution in the linear range of detection. (B, C) Immunoblot analysis was performed on serum pools in order to ensure multiple immune reactivities with protein antigens. Results of a representative experiment using total bacterial lysate prepared from B. burgdorferi s.s. (B) or from B. afzelii (C) reacted with human sera at 5,000-fold dilution are shown. IgG antibodies were detected by anti-human IgG specific secondary reagents.—: incubation without primary antibody (serum pool), kDa: molecular weight marker.

FIG. 2 (A) shows the fragment size distribution of the B. afzelii small fragment genomic library, K78-LamB. After sequencing randomly selected clones, sequences were trimmed (428) to eliminate vector residues and the numbers of clones with various genomic fragment sizes were plotted. (B) shows the fragment size distribution of the B. afzelii large fragment genomic library, K78-FhuA. After sequencing randomly selected clones, sequences were trimmed (466) to eliminate vector residues and the numbers of clones with various genomic fragment sizes were plotted.

FIG. 3 (A) shows the MACS selection with the biotinylated human IgG pool with sera from patients with Erythema migrans (EM-IgG). The K78-FhuA library in pHIE11 was screened with 10-20 μg biotinylated IgG. As negative control, no serum was added to the library cells for screening. Number of cells selected after elution are shown. (B) shows the reactivity of specific clones (1-20) selected by bacterial surface display and Wt (pHIE11 without insert) as analysed by immunoblot analysis with the human serum IgG pool (EM-IgG) used for selection by MACS at a dilution of 1:3,000. Arrows indicate the clones detected as positive. As a loading control the same blot was also analysed with antibodies directed against the platform protein FhuA at a dilution of 1:5,000. (C) shows the MACS selection with the to biotinylated human IgG pool with sera from patients with Lyme arthritis (LA-IgG) and the K78-FhuA library in pHIE11. (D) shows the reactivity of specific clones (1-20) selected by bacterial surface display and Wt (pHIE11 without insert) as analysed by immunoblot analysis with the human serum IgG pool (LA-IgG) used for selection by MACS at a dilution of 1:3,000. Arrows indicate the clones detected as positive.

FIG. 4 shows an example for the PCR analysis for the gene distribution of one gene with the respective oligonucleotides and 30 B. burgdorferi s.l. strains. The predicted size of the PCR fragment derived from antigen BAP004 from B. burgdorferi s.l. is 420 bp. 1-30, strains or clinical isolates as shown in Table 3; —, no genomic DNA added.

FIG. 5 shows the measurement of epitope-specific mouse serum IgG antibody levels induced by total bacterial lysates of LamB or FhuA expressing E. coli clones with B. afzelii-derived epitopes. The figure shows a representative peptide ELISA experiment with three sets of mouse sera (pools of 5 mice in each group) generated by epitopes expressed by bacterial clones Baf2 (BA0210), Baf12 (BA0149) and Baf36 (BA0181), respectively. Sera were tested at two different dilutions (200× and 1000×) against overlapping peptides covering the epitopes. Black bars, 200×; white bars, 1000×. Designation of the biotin-labelled synthetic peptides corresponding to the respective epitopes tested are shown below the dilutions.

FIG. 6 shows the sero-conversion as determined by Western blot analysis. As example for the determination of the infectious status of mice by Western blot analysis, sera from mice immunized with either the Borrelia antigen BbuA0034-1 or adjuvant in PBS buffer (PBS) are shown. Nitrocellulose membrane with total Borrelia cell lysate was cut into strips which were incubated with the individual mouse sera (1-10) from each group. Sero-conversion (infection) is indicated with a + (plus) and uninfected with a − (minus). kDa: kilo Dalton.

TABLE 1 Table 1: Immunogenic proteins identified from B. afzelii by bacterial surface display. Location of B. afzelii Putative No. of identified Seq ID antigenic function (by Predicted selected Ident. in immunogenic (DNA, protein homology) immunogenic aa* clones Screen region (aa) Prot.) BA0056 hypothetical 6-20, 25-51, 58-83, 9 C, D, E, F 128-169,  1, 135 protein 94-105, 111-122, 257-336, 127-135, 141-155, 339-379 162-173, 179-186, 188-207, 213-226, 230-248, 253-265, 269-282, 285-291, 367-378, 384-393, 401-425, 453-464, 471-477, 504-514, 519-527, 532-555, 557-572, 584-598, 609-616, 624-630, 638-645, 648-653 BA0060 hypothetical 23-31, 47-53, 57-64, 9 I 180-189  2, 136 protein 74-89, 91-106, 127-132, 137-144, 152-157, 164-169, 186-192, 201-206, 208-217, 223-235 BA0062 methionyl- 4-32, 43-52, 54-66, 2 A, C, I 159-213  3, 137 tRNA 78-88, 91-122, formyltransferase 124-131, 144-150, (fmt) 153-159, 161-178, 183-191, 195-201, 205-215, 236-252, 258-263, 276-284, 288-294, 302-312 BA0072 peptide chain 8-23, 30-35, 44-54, 5 B, C, E, F 229-267  4, 138 release factor 65-73, 77-83, 2 (prfB) 89-110, 117-129, 132-137, 156-165, 169-175, 189-199, 225-237 BA0075 predicted 5-31, 40-50, 52-58, 4 A, B, E 138-187  5, 139 coding region 64-72, 112-118, 137-142, 170-175, 179-185, 192-201, 299-305 BA0078 conserved 11-18, 23-47, 113-119, 5 A, C  97-177  6, 140 hypothetical 131-137, 143-149, protein 197-203, 215-222, 247-256, 264-290, 298-303, 311-358, 368-401, 403-409 BA0087 V-type 5-20, 27-32, 34-40, 4 L  94-119  7, 141 ATPase, 43-64, 66-72, subunit K, 78-85, 91-97, 104-110, putative 118-141 BA0091 V-type 5-22, 25-32, 39-45, 3 D 195-228  8, 142 ATPase, 51-58, 60-104, subunit A 106-114, 129-155, (atpA) 160-166, 174-182, 195-204, 207-213, 223-239, 243-250, 257-267, 270-276, 279-285, 293-302, 304-317, 328-335, 360-372, 374-382, 386-397, 404-418, 429-438, 441-447, 450-460, 467-472, 480-497, 501-507, 515-521, 562-572 BA0106 acetyl-CoA 4-10, 31-42, 44-59, 3 A, E 165-214  9, 143 C- 65-72, 75-115, acetyltransferase 119-127, 146-155, (fadA) 181-188, 198-207, 213-219, 228-244, 254-264, 269-293, 295-310, 313-321, 323-336, 350-369, 380-389 BA0126 ribosomal 11-25, 27-45, 66-73, 4 C, E 350-451 10, 144 protein S1 75-85, 104-113, (rpsA) 126-135, 143-154, 160-166, 178-185, 201-215, 231-245, 254-261, 266-296, 298-306, 308-332, 339-344, 360-370, 385-391, 412-419, 449-457, 461-469, 472-478, 495-505, 511-518 BA0135 penicillin- 14-35, 64-72, 81-87, 10 B, C, E 41-107, 528-596 11, 145 binding 90-99, 110-116, protein (pbp- 137-152, 158-166, 1) 171-178, 207-216, 225-232, 239-250, 264-271, 276-286, 316-323, 325-343, 350-356, 393-407, 416-422, 440-445, 448-453, 469-475, 497-506, 509-529, 537-543, 586-592, 603-610 BA0149 flagellar 56-62, 83-96, 161-167, 71 A, B, C,  18-315 12, 146 filament 41 kDa 170-179, 184-197, D, E, F, core 205-214, 235-243, G, H, I, K protein (flaB) 285-296, 302-308, 324-333 BA0150 flagellar 4-11, 35-41, 57-65, 11 A, C, E 22-75, 110-148, 13, 147 hook- 82-88, 99-115, 344-404 associated 118-124, 126-134, protein 2 146-151, 159-167, (fliD) 174-180, 187-192, 195-206, 216-222, 237-247, 261-269, 295-304, 327-334, 341-347, 363-374, 382-388, 398-404, 410-424, 430-436, 441-448, 451-461, 473-484, 493-507, 509-522, 528-536, 544-550, 566-573, 588-604, 608-614 BA0152 N- 4-14, 21-28, 32-38, 6 E 264-328 14, 148 acetylglucosamine- 59-71, 84-106, 6- 110-120, 127-140, phosphate 146-167, 184-190, deacetylase 197-203, 223-232, (nagA) 249-278, 280-292, 309-324, 342-355, 367-374, 377-384 BA0181 flagellar 13-18, 47-55, 65-75, 6 A, B, C, F 6-65, 68-112, 15, 149 hook- 132-138, 140-146, 261-352, associated 149-155, 157-168, 449-507 protein (flgK) 218-227, 241-248, 275-281, 283-289, 306-315, 329-336, 352-360, 372-378, 388-394, 396-404, 411-416, 424-429, 445-455, 479-491, 494-500, 571-578, 583-588, 600-621 BA0192 hypothetical 10-34, 36-42, 46-55, 9 J 79-89 16, 150 protein 58-64, 79-86, 99-122, 125-135, 165-184, 200-209, 215-226, 232-238 BA0200 D-alanine-- 4-34, 38-62, 64-78, 3 K 111-138 17, 151 D-alanine 87-99, 101-109, ligase (ddlA) 113-125, 128-156, 166-184, 186-193, 196-203, 205-215, 220-226, 236-260, 262-269, 271-288, 296-302, 325-333, 339-350 BA0210 surface- 8-23, 25-33, 57-68, 39 A, B, C, 102-177, 18, 152 located 102-113, 194-199, D, E, F 285-364, membrane 236-241, 269-296, 937-983 protein 1 326-333, 339-348, (lmp1) 352-360, 364-369, 378-393, 422-430, 434-447, 476-484, 488-501, 530-538, 542-555, 585-592, 596-609, 638-646, 650-663, 692-699, 706-716, 726-745, 765-771, 792-798, 809-815, 825-835, 862-868, 878-885, 893-902, 911-922, 927-937, 947-953, 962-970, 978-985, 1011-1017, 1027-1034, 1045-1052 BA0215 phosphate 4-20, 36-45, 62-69, 7 A, C, D, E  80-159 19, 153 ABC 73-83, 95-112, transporter, 153-166, 178-185, periplasmic 194-205, 215-223, phosphate- 238-247 binding protein (pstS) BA0221 flagellar 82-95, 107-122, 11 A, C, D, E 245-299 20, 154 motor switch 153-158, 165-171, protein (fliG- 178-196, 202-210, 1) 216-222, 270-280, 312-318, 336-341, 381-389 BA0235 hypothetical 4-23, 45-57, 68-81, 5 D, E 126-200 21, 155 protein 91-104, 118-131, 134-144, 160-166, 172-189, 191-202, 204-217, 228-236, 261-268, 273-285, 287-294, 307-316, 328-343, 350-356, 381-418, 420-429, 440-452, 458-465, 497-504, 528-538, 546-556, 567-574, 580-601, 605-624, 628-639, 647-653 BA0237 hypothetical 4-19, 24-30, 32-48, 17 B, D, E,  15-146 22, 156 protein 53-80, 89-97, F, K 102-109, 136-142, 145-153, 156-164, 177-187, 192-209, 215-221, 238-243 BA0283 flagellar hook 5-13, 70-79, 91-97, 6 B, C, D 35-109, 187-298 23, 157 protein (flgE) 123-129, 155-162, 173-189, 199-224, 232-238, 255-261, 265-283, 290-301, 306-311, 314-320, 336-344, 351-358, 395-409, 412-418, 430-439 BA0295 heat shock 13-31, 36-47, 80-96, 6 B, C, D 220-288 24, 158 protein 98-107, 144-149, (hslU) 187-193, 215-220, 235-251, 291-300, 306-326, 328-338, 340-358, 364-380, 408-426, 434-441 BA0314 hypothetical 4-24, 36-43, 70-81, 4 C, D 31-89 25, 159 protein 89-100, 109-120, 127-132, 141-158, 165-178, 183-191, 193-202, 208-215 BA0321 hypothetical 6-25, 44-49, 95-105, 7 A, B, D, F 83-172, 272-327 26, 160 protein 136-144, 199-215, 236-241, 256-262, 280-287, 306-320, 326-334, 346-354, 364-376 BA0327 oligopeptide 4-21, 27-44, 85-92, 40 A, B, C, 20-79, 404-526 27, 161 ABC 100-107, 112-118, D, E, F transporter, 142-149, 161-190, periplasmic 216-222, 231-238, oligopeptide- 258-310, 317-323, binding 334-344, 352-359, protein 367-373, 380-387, (oppA-2) 394-400, 429-441, 485-500 BA0329 oligopeptide 12-28, 38-58, 61-75, 9 C, D, E 40-97, 251-297, 28, 162 ABC 98-116, 121-127, 420-488 transporter, 133-142, 169-199, periplasmic 213-221, 236-241, oligopeptide- 243-250, 254-260, binding 269-281, 284-301, protein 313-319, 352-358, (oppA-3) 362-368, 391-397, 436-448, 455-463, 485-496, 498-511, 523-533 BA0343 hypothetical 8-15, 24-41, 50-79, 3 D 258-336 29, 163 protein 86-91, 109-141, 143-156, 166-171, 204-212, 235-243, 245-267, 291-311, 328-336, 344-360, 377-388, 390-396 BA0345 fibronectin/fibrinogen- 4-15, 22-38, 46-53, 7 H, I, J 458-472 30, 164 binding 72-82, 99-119, protein, 131-139, 148-154, putative 179-184, 187-195, 203-209, 212-219, 223-231, 242-249, 257-263, 269-277, 282-288, 310-315, 346-353, 371-377, 388-395, 400-421, 427-438, 445-451 BA0351 hypothetical 5-29, 37-117, 128-134, 7 A, B, C, D 197-284 31, 165 protein 138-144, 146-161, 172-178, 193-219, 221-231, 234-240, 242-261, 263-274, 297-302, 306-322, 339-345, 356-365, 371-383, 402-413, 416-424, 432-443, 447-456, 461-466, 471-524, 532-593 BA0356 carboxyl- 5-29, 54-69, 72-88, 9 A, B, E, F 378-461 32, 166 terminal 99-112, 128-138, protease (ctp) 150-165, 167-174, 181-187, 205-226, 246-253, 273-279, 285-291, 293-311, 313-323, 329-334, 338-350, 356-363, 366-372, 388-394, 397-404, 417-423, 437-445, 453-473 BA0364 aminopeptidase 38-45, 67-82, 90-96, 7 A, B, C 82-127, 212-253 33, 167 I (yscI) 101-108, 113-120, 128-143, 160-173, 190-200, 206-218, 226-237, 244-252, 256-271, 276-285, 298-309, 319-325, 332-350, 355-363, 379-388, 395-404, 412-419, 427-433, 442-455 BA0380 basic 10-28, 37-50, 58-66, 6 B, D 26-73 34, 168 membrane 72-91, 101-119, protein B 124-131, 133-149, (bmpB) 152-170, 177-186, 198-204, 225-244, 249-256, 260-266, 269-286, 298-303, 306-312, 329-338, 342-348 BA0388 DNA- 10-18, 45-51, 58-87, 5 A, E 1053-1082 35, 169 directed RNA 95-139, 175-182, polymerase 184-194, 228-237, (rpoC) 239-245, 255-261, 269-282, 289-295, 301-308, 310-319, 333-374, 376-383, 394-447, 455-464, 485-503, 519-526, 532-542, 551-557, 571-604, 608-614, 616-623, 654-660, 682-687, 717-724, 729-736, 759-775, 800-806, 817-823, 829-838, 840-864, 877-887, 900-906, 943-951, 959-978, 981-994, 996-1012, 1016-1032, 1035-1046, 1049-1056, 1078-1109, 1117-1124, 1137-1143, 1158-1167, 1179-1199, 1201-1207, 1215-1245, 1250-1256, 1262-1268, 1270-1281, 1298-1310, 1314-1323, 1326-1333, 1347-1357, 1364-1372 BA0389 DNA- 4-9, 15-27, 29-37, 6 C, D, E 194-292 36, 170 directed RNA 50-59, 65-73, 94-107, polymerase 138-168, 179-187, (rpoB) 191-203, 230-237, 254-260, 267-274, 279-294, 312-328, 355-361, 368-375, 378-388, 405-415, 441-457, 459-467, 469-476, 496-506, 508-514, 521-531, 538-549, 554-561, 566-574, 582-591, 604-625, 640-653, 657-671, 674-689, 698-705, 713-723, 746-756, 763-771, 777-789, 801-809, 822-839, 847-854, 865-872, 877-883, 889-906, 922-940, 943-953, 963-984, 1004-1010, 1021-1037, 1045-1057, 1070-1089, 1096-1115, 1117-1123, 1127-1135 BA0417 predicted 10-30, 38-51, 74-81, 5 B, C, E, F 44-99 37, 171 coding region 86-96, 116-148, 161-167, 202-208, 211-217, 239-261, 283-295, 298-310, 322-328, 335-346 BA0419 sensory 9-23, 31-42, 50-60, 7 B, E, F 1229-1275 38, 172 transduction 68-74, 85-92, histidine 98-106, 108-117, kinase, 135-142, 144-150, putative 155-172, 174-191, 193-206, 208-215, 223-233, 237-245, 252-267, 274-296, 308-316, 324-341, 375-385, 394-402, 419-440, 446-452, 493-499, 514-520, 537-546, 570-579, 582-588, 591-603, 609-618, 620-628, 640-687, 700-706, 714-742, 765-774, 794-805, 809-825, 827-838, 847-857, 860-867, 875-888, 897-907, 917-926, 937-942, 950-971, 975-981, 989-999, 1016-1052, 1054-1071, 1089-1105, 1108-1130, 1142-1160, 1166-1178, 1184-1197, 1199-1207, 1216-1222, 1232-1247, 1249-1254, 1262-1283, 1291-1300, 1308-1332, 1343-1356, 1363-1368, 1384-1398, 1401-1410, 1423-1434, 1443-1464, 1478-1484 BA0429 stage 0 5-15, 21-35, 42-51, 9 C, I, J 110-131, 39, 173 sporulation 55-60, 73-80, 179-236 protein J 87-94, 103-110, (spo0J) 134-146, 157-168, 174-188, 190-201, 209-223, 250-257 BA0431 DNA gyrase, 10-24, 30-48, 52-66, 3 B, C 372-434 40, 174 subunit B 90-100, 111-137, (gyrB) 153-162, 166-175, 184-190, 193-206, 226-232, 238-248, 250-260, 267-273, 322-333, 349-382, 402-413, 421-428, 443-451, 470-480, 487-498, 508-518, 526-539, 544-549, 568-574, 607-623, 631-636 BA0442 aspartyl- 20-28, 33-38, 45-77, 3 C, E 439-464 41, 175 tRNA 91-110, 124-130, synthetase 137-162, 164-170, (aspS) 175-183, 185-205, 207-217, 235-240, 254-269, 291-296, 319-326, 342-354, 374-381, 397-403, 424-434, 442-455, 469-484, 494-501, 513-522, 529-534, 546-556, 558-564 BA0464 hypothetical 4-13, 15-21, 24-32, 2 A, E 12-77 42, 176 protein 40-45, 47-65, 75-110, 114-123, 133-142, 144-159, 164-171, 187-215 BA0469 UDP-N- 4-9, 25-44, 49-60, 3 D, E 281-316 43, 177 acetylglucosamine 72-82, 87-105, 1- 125-138, 142-155, carboxyvinyltransferase 171-179, 183-197, (murA) 205-225, 232-244, 256-270, 278-285, 287-293, 310-333, 339-345, 350-366, 368-378, 381-392, 397-404, 408-418 BA0475 ribosomal 28-35, 95-116, 3 D, E 33-78 44, 178 protein L4 138-146, 150-158, (rplD) 174-203 BA0507 hypothetical 4-23, 31-43, 58-64, 8 B, C, E, F 718-788 45, 179 protein 68-83, 93-103, 121-135, 143-156, 181-187, 227-238, 251-264, 292-298, 309-317, 326-333, 351-357, 359-365, 387-395, 400-407, 431-437, 451-460, 462-471, 496-508, 519-526, 534-540, 568-573, 608-618, 620-627, 650-657, 673-679, 690-702, 705-714, 728-734, 738-745, 758-764, 776-782, 795-810, 830-839, 882-904, 911-926, 938-944, 962-969, 975-984, 999-1007, 1019-1025, 1072-1090, 1099-1111, 1172-1178, 1232-1241, 1245-1252, 1257-1266, 1283-1288, 1305-1311, 1370-1377, 1392-1398, 1412-1417, 1422-1434, 1448-1458, 1479-1487, 1529-1534, 1570-1576, 1582-1590, 1615-1622, 1630-1645, 1659-1668, 1700-1708, 1730-1736, 1756-1762, 1765-1776, 1798-1803, 1805-1819, 1831-1837, 1872-1882, 1926-1936, 1946-1952, 1955-1961, 1968-1980, 1995-2002, 2035-2045, 2048-2056, 2076-2083, 2099-2107, 2122-2128, 2146-2156 BA0513 heat shock 12-19, 22-29, 37-43, 23 A, C, D, 66-161, 494-576 46, 180 protein 70 48-56, 79-90, E, F, J, K (dnaK-2) 114-119, 136-147, 162-172, 174-180, 186-194, 200-213, 232-238, 275-282, 288-297, 303-319, 329-338, 341-351, 363-371, 383-397, 416-423, 430-438, 454-472, 476-483, 536-542, 576-581, 626-632 BA0514 GrpE protein 29-35, 48-56, 82-89, 8 D, E  1-52 47, 181 (grpE) 106-112, 118-126, 144-149, 157-173, 175-184 BA0539 hypothetical 14-36, 48-54, 79-85, 4 C, F 171-240 48, 182 protein 149-159, 171-182, 189-205, 211-217 BA0546 hypothetical 9-23, 30-40, 56-70, 4 C, D 363-430 49, 183 protein 75-80, 97-103, 111-117, 130-135, 139-145, 149-160, 250-256, 276-286, 309-315, 326-331, 364-376, 385-391, 400-412, 429-434, 446-462, 472-498 BA0553 heat shock 4-28, 44-60, 73-81, 12 D, E, F 215-283 50, 184 protein 90 88-94, 102-108, (htpG) 119-127, 145-170, 201-208, 220-227, 229-239, 291-297, 306-323, 327-335, 342-369, 372-394, 414-420, 427-445, 456-462, 471-478, 494-503, 505-510, 536-542, 549-567, 585-594, 614-627 BA0564 uridylate 4-10, 27-33, 40-48, 4 I 151-160 51, 185 kinase 64-70, 82-96, (smbA) 108-115, 123-131, 171-176, 182-204 BA0572 DNA 4-15, 19-36, 39-47, 5 B, C, F 458-497 52, 186 polymerase 51-57, 62-69, III, subunit 77-84, 91-97, 103-112, alpha (dnaE) 117-136, 148-168, 189-195, 204-211, 213-228, 234-243, 268-274, 280-289, 294-308, 314-335, 341-349, 354-375, 382-392, 394-405, 419-424, 430-435, 442-469, 479-489, 500-507, 510-516, 523-534, 536-545, 560-579, 586-592, 614-620, 639-649, 652-663, 665-702, 704-710, 727-732, 743-755, 761-781, 799-805, 810-816, 842-851, 885-891, 904-912, 924-931, 933-946, 948-973, 980-988, 990-1007, 1017-1023, 1027-1035, 1046-1055, 1063-1074, 1086-1091, 1095-1102, 1116-1122, 1149-1158 BA0581 pfs protein 4-23, 26-32, 50-56, 4 B, E  91-170 53, 187 (pfs-2) 72-85, 87-104, 106-113, 116-151, 159-174, 176-184, 187-194, 199-206, 211-232, 242-261 BA0596 membrane- 4-24, 53-58, 65-72, 8 B, C, D, 36-119, 343-394 54, 188 associated 84-96, 106-113, E, F protein p66 115-125, 149-154, 176-191, 215-222, 239-244, 267-275, 278-304, 323-340, 345-351, 416-424, 449-455, 473-483, 523-537, 540-556, 564-583, 605-616 BA0601 aminoacyl- 11-27, 45-52, 60-74, 3 B, C 342-386 55, 189 histidine 96-102, 123-136, dipeptidase 140-155, 167-189, (pepD) 194-201, 209-230, 254-261, 264-284, 289-294, 297-305, 319-325, 338-343, 349-361, 363-377, 381-388, 396-409, 413-422, 435-441, 455-469 BA0605 ATP- 9-45, 47-54, 72-78, 8 D, E 156-286 56, 190 dependent 81-96, 111-118, Clp protease, 123-130, 133-143, subunit X 148-154, 157-182, (clpX) 202-215, 241-255, 290-311, 316-334, 340-346, 349-356, 366-385, 387-400, 403-411 BA0606 ATP- 26-45, 62-70, 84-121, 6 A, B, C, E 747-795 57, 191 dependent 129-138, 146-168, protease LA 182-188, 197-207, (lon-2) 213-220, 222-229, 246-257, 277-283, 304-314, 328-336, 348-371, 375-385, 388-396, 409-421, 429-438, 451-459, 465-485, 501-528, 530-536, 555-581, 589-594, 607-614, 620-626, 628-634, 637-643, 650-658, 665-671, 680-691, 703-709, 721-742, 746-758, 761-767, 772-777, 784-790, 796-810 BA0619 N- 4-11, 15-37, 52-66, 9 A, B, C, 75-223, 285-348 58, 192 acetylmuramoyl- 79-90, 96-106, D, E, F L-alanine 110-118, 124-137, amidase, 152-160, 162-171, putative 174-182, 200-209, 215-222, 227-242, 248-264, 284-308, 325-340, 362-369, 390-418, 420-426, 440-454, 463-471, 478-485, 490-512, 517-532, 539-545, 570-583, 591-605, 621-630, 643-652, 655-665, 684-694 BA0643 serine/threonine 8-18, 25-57, 93-107, 7 J 390-409 59, 193 kinase, 121-128, 135-141, putative 159-176, 183-191, 202-223, 229-236, 298-304, 332-340, 359-368, 384-393, 410-426, 434-439, 444-449, 476-491, 502-508, 511-523, 525-533, 548-554 BA0644 heat shock 13-31, 35-41, 50-58, 7 E  6-100 60, 194 protein 70-81, 91-100, (groEL) 120-128, 143-149, 185-191, 196-203, 213-239, 241-251, 256-277, 289-303, 305-316, 364-388, 394-403, 406-412, 417-426, 440-446, 462-469, 494-502, 504-522 BA0653 phosphoglycerate 7-14, 30-36, 43-52, 6 A, E, F 168-223 61, 195 mutase 54-65, 71-85, (gpmA) 95-101, 113-119, 121-127, 153-170, 179-188, 191-200, 204-210, 214-222, 227-233, 244-250 BA0663 flagellar 14-21, 25-39, 54-64, 7 C, D 12-84 62, 196 filament 74-99, 102-129, outer layer 139-153, 159-166, protein (flaA) 188-206, 214-220, 236-243, 245-255, 262-269, 276-295, 300-309, 315-321, 324-331 BA0665 purine- 4-13, 26-33, 35-49, 4 H, I 50-64 63, 197 binding 55-68, 74-82, chemotaxis 96-114, 116-148, protein 150-161, 229-235, (cheW-3) 237-254, 257-266, 280-286, 305-312, 320-337, 343-356, 373-382, 384-427, 433-439 BA0675 methyl- 4-46, 53-78, 103-113, 12 B, C, D, 28-73, 292-344, 64, 198 accepting 117-122, 144-149, F, G, H, 531-608 chemotaxis 168-174, 176-183, I, J protein (mcp- 193-200, 207-238, 4) 252-259, 271-277, 279-307, 315-326, 330-391, 412-423, 425-464, 472-478, 508-526, 531-542, 551-560, 562-576, 584-593, 602-608, 616-637, 658-666, 714-719, 721-730 BA0682 phosphomevalonate 4-21, 26-33, 69-78, 2 E 223-272 65, 199 kinase, 80-93, 109-125, putative 127-134, 137-146, 154-160, 162-169, 173-182, 189-199, 210-220, 224-242, 246-278, 284-290, 294-308 BA0703 DNA primase 10-30, 33-42, 46-62, 2 B 180-232 66, 200 (dnaG) 64-70, 82-97, 112-122, 124-130, 138-145, 148-165, 167-178, 186-192, 196-209, 213-218, 241-249, 258-276, 279-288, 291-299, 302-307, 315-337, 344-349, 360-376, 390-402, 409-415, 417-428, 452-468, 475-484, 486-492 BA0733 conserved 17-24, 32-43, 49-55, 9 J 117-131 67, 201 hypothetical 62-69, 78-92, protein 97-118, 132-139, 148-154, 173-179, 181-189, 191-210 BA0737 antigen, 4-18, 35-44, 54-67, 54 A, B, C, 252-396 68, 202 p83/100 77-85, 92-101, D, E, F, 106-119, 131-144, G, I, J, 146-164, 171-177, K, L 182-191, 203-218, 282-288, 297-310, 343-359, 361-367, 400-405, 433-439, 454-462, 483-492, 496-504, 506-517, 522-529, 552-559, 564-572, 574-580, 590-604, 625-660 BA0745 hypothetical 33-50, 67-75, 89-95, 5 A, E, K 115-166 69, 203 protein 107-116, 119-126, 151-158, 165-170, 175-187, 237-243, 252-258, 272-282, 323-332 BA0748 ABC 14-23, 41-53, 63-107, 4 C, F 203-299 70, 204 transporter, 111-134, 136-155, ATP-binding 179-210, 223-233, protein 261-267, 285-290, 296-302 BA0754 hypothetical 22-31, 35-41, 53-62, 2 I, K  1-22 71, 205 protein 64-75, 79-90 BA0759 hypothetical 4-14, 17-30, 33-44, 12 B, C, D, 1-35, 183-264 72, 206 protein 54-62, 67-76, E, F, G, L 78-97, 112-118, 143-152, 163-169, 175-188, 191-199, 207-216, 232-239, 243-249, 262-268, 289-296, 312-319, 335-340 BA0767 flagellar P- 5-18, 37-53, 56-66, 3 C, D, E 245-332 73, 207 ring protein 74-81, 100-110, (flgI) 120-131, 135-141, 150-156, 174-181, 189-196, 202-211, 225-235, 246-251, 255-260, 311-319, 326-332 BA0778 hypothetical 4-25, 28-34, 41-49, 6 C, D, F 318-384 74, 208 protein 71-78, 101-120, 125-156, 167-173, 190-199, 207-213, 218-230, 256-267, 269-275, 286-304, 312-320, 341-349, 363-371, 375-384 BA0784 cell division 23-39, 48-58, 60-82, 4 B, D, F  36-419 75, 209 protein (ftsH) 85-104, 106-112, 117-142, 181-191, 205-213, 219-236, 242-251, 263-276, 295-302, 308-315, 320-330, 335-343, 363-372, 387-392, 413-419, 430-457, 462-470, 477-492, 499-505, 531-540, 542-548, 568-600, 607-614, 620-630 BA0790 hypothetical 9-50, 60-68, 70-78, 8 A, B, D, 1372-1419 76, 210 protein 84-100, 105-113, E, F 125-133, 141-153, 186-202, 204-209, 212-219, 236-253, 287-301, 310-317, 319-327, 332-342, 353-358, 364-396, 422-430, 437-459, 484-508, 510-520, 535-543, 573-583, 591-598, 610-621, 629-640, 648-653, 675-685, 691-708, 728-735, 738-745, 750-763, 765-773, 790-797, 799-820, 842-854, 857-864, 880-885, 903-909, 923-933, 939-951, 980-986, 991-998, 1019-1024, 1026-1033, 1045-1051, 1064-1075, 1077-1094, 1100-1115, 1139-1157, 1163-1181, 1196-1202, 1207-1213, 1219-1225, 1241-1250, 1275-1290, 1304-1310, 1332-1347, 1352-1365, 1383-1405, 1421-1429, 1433-1442 BA0792 hypothetical 4-40, 60-65, 90-102, 6 B, D, E  14-104 77, 211 protein 125-138, 150-160, 162-172 BA0829 hypothetical 4-31, 37-53, 59-80, 3 B, E  72-146 78, 212 protein 87-93, 173-183, 185-195, 219-233, 239-247, 265-275 BAP001 hypothetical 5-22, 38-46, 53-58, 313 A, B, C, 15-106, 137-201 79, 213 protein 69-78, 80-88, D, E, F, 92-99, 117-124, G, H, I, 142-151, 154-165, J, K, L 189-196, 206-213, 220-226, 288-309 BAP002 outer 4-17, 37-47, 58-66, 10 A, D, F  41-155 80, 214 membrane 75-81, 83-89, protein 106-116, 145-152, 162-168 BAP003 antigen, S2 4-16, 50-57, 66-72, 4 A, B, D 165-200 81, 215 92-100, 102-112, 126-150, 156-167, 194-204, 208-218, 244-256 BAP004 hypothetical 19-26, 38-51, 81-89, 3 G 26-48 82, 216 protein 96-103, 107-114, 117-122, 128-134, 150-158, 164-170 BAP005 decorin 5-24, 30-35, 42-47, 16 A, F 15-92 83, 217 binding 74-86, 107-117, protein A 146-156 (dbpA) BAP006 oligopeptide 5-22, 41-49, 55-65, 10 A, B, D, 335-381, 84, 218 ABC 85-96, 100-106, E, F 422-484 transporter, 111-117, 125-132, periplasmic 150-155, 161-189, oligopeptide- 204-212, 229-243, binding 262-277, 286-296, protein 304-311, 314-323, (oppAV) 353-359, 367-373, 391-397, 410-417, 446-451, 485-500 BAP007 lipoprotein 4-28, 37-43, 65-72, 26 A, B, C,  50-215 85, 219 109-127, 140-148, D, E, F, 155-166, 188-198 G, H BAP008 hypothetical 4-24, 41-55, 71-79, 36 A, B, C,  91-213 86, 220 protein 84-89, 95-100, D, E, F 113-125, 138-148, 193-203, 215-221, 300-306, 334-350, 362-369, 385-396 BAP009 antigen, P35, 4-24, 94-101, 103-112, 6 B, D, E 25-76 87, 221 putative 128-134, 141-148, 156-165, 172-181, 191-197, 281-290 BAP010 outer surface 5-13, 19-25, 27-40, 6 C, D, E, F 336-362 88, 222 protein, 47-54, 63-69, putative 84-98, 119-125, 143-158, 170-182, 199-205, 223-234, 237-251, 257-265, 287-292, 296-301, 307-328, 336-352 BAP011 oligopeptide 4-25, 29-36, 41-47, 6 C, D, E, F 311-377 89, 223 ABC 54-66, 88-95, transporter, 97-110, 115-121, periplasmic 127-135, 164-193, oligopeptide- 203-220, 232-244, binding 269-275, 278-284, protein 289-316, 320-327, (oppAIV) 336-342, 344-353, 355-363, 370-378, 436-442, 449-454, 460-466, 478-489, 492-505 BAP012 IMP 12-34, 40-48, 84-90, 4 A, C, E, F 331-386 90, 224 dehydrogenase 131-138, 140-151, (guaB) 157-175, 177-187, 193-201, 207-261, 267-281, 306-312, 334-340, 343-349, 352-357, 369-377, 380-394 BAP013 outer surface 6-20, 54-73, 97-116, 12 C, D, E, F 116-212 91, 225 protein C 129-135, 138-149, (ospC) 173-191, 194-208 BAP014 hypothetical 11-34, 41-48, 58-72, 4 K 208-230 92, 226 protein 82-88, 90-99, 101-109, 137-145, 161-168, 172-188, 193-211, 215-221, 260-269, 271-278, 304-310, 317-327, 336-351 BAP015 hypothetical 4-13, 20-30, 73-83, 61 A, B, C, 3-48, 576-739 93, 227 protein 90-107, 117-137, D, E, F, 226-236, 244-260, G, H, I, 268-275, 286-293, J, K, L 310-317, 324-330, 340-367, 370-379, 390-422, 427-442, 497-505, 507-513, 549-557, 569-576, 585-593, 611-617, 630-638, 647-657, 659-666, 670-675, 689-699, 726-736, 769-774, 779-802, 866-873, 886-894, 934-940, 956-973, 986-992, 1009-1017, 1026-1041, 1043-1050, 1056-1068 BAP016 hypothetical 10-19, 32-40, 42-48, 2 F 32-72 94, 228 protein 50-58, 75-85, 88-97, 112-139 BAP017 hypothetical 4-13, 20-27, 67-80, 25 A, C, D, 324-391 95, 229 protein 92-98, 101-107, E, G, I, 114-123, 153-169, J, K, L 174-181, 200-206, 213-219, 226-242, 248-254, 256-289, 299-307, 310-316, 320-326, 329-346, 382-392 BAP018 hypothetical 32-38, 40-47, 49-54, 12 A, C, D, 104-143, 96, 230 protein 79-89, 95-101, E, F 148-195 110-117, 122-129, 132-140, 151-157, 178-197, 200-206, 216-227, 249-257 BAP019 hypothetical 10-16, 35-47, 52-77, 18 A, B, C, 91-135, 282-299, 97, 231 protein 81-89, 104-109, D, E, F, 445-477 115-123, 132-149, I, K, L 151-160, 163-184, 197-213, 215-245, 252-266, 294-304, 310-337, 342-348, 362-372, 393-398, 408-430, 452-466, 468-476, 485-491, 497-506, 514-520, 530-537, 539-557, 592-606, 627-632, 636-653, 674-688, 693-731, 748-753, 760-766, 783-797, 805-814, 819-825, 833-840, 843-851 BAP020 hypothetical 11-22, 25-31, 55-65, 17 A, C, D, 130-137 98, 232 protein 83-107, 111-129 E, F, G, H, I BAP021 hypothetical 15-21, 24-43, 60-68, 18 C, D, E, F  3-75 99, 233 protein 86-95, 157-185, 188-197 BAP022 hypothetical 13-19, 35-44, 56-73, 9 A, C, D, 400-429, 100, 234  protein 79-92, 116-129, E, F 521-545 143-158, 169-178, 198-210, 215-221, 238-243, 247-256, 261-267, 270-294, 310-320, 331-341, 360-366, 377-387, 397-406, 412-421, 423-439, 449-455, 458-465, 473-479, 483-492, 510-525, 561-569, 571-597, 599-619, 635-641, 686-704, 712-721, 738-755, 761-767, 781-794, 806-813, 844-857, 862-873, 875-882, 889-896, 901-915, 921-931, 937-943, 963-975, 991-997, 1001-1009, 1025-1032, 1040-1046, 1051-1056, 1073-1080, 1096-1105, 1112-1154, 1163-1170, 1173-1180, 1186-1197, 1203-1208, 1224-1232, 1237-1249, 1254-1261 BAP023 antigen, P35, 6-30, 81-87, 117-128, 5 D, E, F  61-122 101, 235  putative 134-142, 147-158, 178-186, 217-227, 246-255 BAP024 immunogenic 4-22, 31-38, 77-83, 147 A, B, C, 8-232, 265-318 102, 236  protein P35 130-137, 159-169, D, E, F, 188-194, 208-229, G, H, I, 231-238, 272-283, J, K, L 286-294, 308-315, 317-336, 338-347 BAP025 hypothetical 9-23, 26-34, 36-42, 14 A, C, D, E 20-62, 95-181 103, 237  protein 73-94, 113-142, 186-192, 200-221, 232-238, 246-252, 254-279, 292-307, 311-316 BAP026 hypothetical 26-37, 58-67, 83-89, 3 A, C, D  1-76 104, 238  protein 97-109, 114-141 BAP027 hypothetical 13-20, 28-35, 70-78, 3 B, C, D, F 121-178 105, 239  protein 95-102, 156-169, 171-180 BAP028 hypothetical 7-20, 32-41, 131-147, 29 A, B, C, 195-259 106, 240  protein 156-166, 219-226, D, F, G 240-251, 259-270, 275-282, 299-305, 309-315, 336-342, 344-350 BAP029 ErpB2 7-23, 37-44, 48-63, 28 GA, B, 19-124, 160-232 107, 241  protein 93-102, 108-120, C, D, F, 138-145, 219-228, H, I, J, 237-246, 251-270, K, L 277-283, 292-300, 317-323, 336-351, 361-367 BAP030 hypothetical 28-35, 40-47, 93-100, 5 C, D, F  4-77 108, 242  protein 102-110, 158-182 BAP031 erp protein 8-32, 39-44, 104-110, 56 A, B, C,  42-199 109, 243  157-169, 183-196, E, G, I 212-217 BAP032 lipoprotein 4-18, 49-56, 72-81, 5 A, B, D, E  48-114 110, 244  90-107, 127-133, 146-151 BAP033 outer 4-22, 24-30, 42-53, 8 A, B, F  97-173 111, 245  membrane 57-62, 66-80, protein, 83-90, 99-104, putative 112-118, 132-148, 168-175, 179-186 BAP034 hypothetical 7-19, 33-43, 58-77, 9 A, B, C, 14-63 112, 246  protein 85-91 D, E, F, G, J BAP035 hypothetical 15-21, 24-35, 75-80, 56 A, B, C,  7-136 113, 247  protein 123-128, 133-139, D, E, F, 148-172 G, J BAP036 hypothetical 29-35, 51-56, 64-74, 10 A, C, D, F  1-44 114, 248  protein 82-88, 100-106, 134-153 BAP037 hypothetical 32-44, 65-72, 75-103, 5 A, D, E, F 136-185 115, 249  protein 136-144, 159-166 BAP038 hypothetical 16-28, 40-53, 74-89, 13 A, D, E,  3-151 116, 250  protein 108-114, 130-140, F, I, J, K 152-160, 168-177 BAP039 hypothetical 5-27, 39-45, 57-65, 11 B, C, D, 27-91 117, 251  protein 72-83, 130-135 G, K BAP040 hypothetical 16-22, 31-44, 52-67, 8 A, E 22-78 118, 252  protein 79-84, 95-106, 119-127 BAP041 hypothetical 4-23, 32-39, 45-53, 45 A, B, C, 157-246 119, 253  protein 67-75, 83-89, D, E, F 97-112, 133-139, 189-194, 200-205, 241-247, 254-259, 275-282, 287-308, 311-316, 329-339, 344-352 BAP042 hypothetical 4-21, 24-30, 52-77, 7 D, F  70-113 120, 254  protein 81-88, 97-102, 110-115, 125-137 BAP043 hypothetical 4-20, 33-38, 44-56, 23 B, F 13-91 121, 255  protein 73-81, 123-135, 159-166, 169-181, 199-204 BAP044 hypothetical 12-18, 23-31, 39-52, 7 A, D, F  1-66 122, 256  protein 54-60, 63-74, 89-97, 99-111 BAP045/ associated 4-19, 55-62, 76-94, 4 E 123, 257  BBS42 protein A 96-104, 109-126, 154-166 CRFA006 4-11, 26-39 4 H, K, L 11-19 124, 258  CRFA514 4-21 2 G 15-24 125, 259  CRFA554 12-25 24 H, I 23-45 126, 260  CRFA657 4-23, 33-55, 59-64, 6 K 54-78 127, 261  76-93, 107-125, 129-138 CRFA744 4-27, 56-82 3 K 21-40 128, 262  CRFA762 8-17, 24-36, 47-61, 2 J 65-83 129, 263  76-83 CRFA780 4-22, 37-46, 54-60, 2 J 13-25 130, 264  64-70 CRFBD21 9-17, 23-41, 64-86 4 G 6-25, 53-66 131, 265  CRFBI14 4-23, 29-48 3 I 18-29 132, 266  CRFBO17 9-20, 26-40, 44-51 3 J 40-60 133, 267  CRFP316 4-9, 11-18, 20-31 2 J  4-21 134, 268  A: 300 bp library of B. afzelii in fhuA with the LBI-IgG pool containing the P1755, P1766, P1772, P1806 and P1811 sera (358), B: 300 bp library of B. afzelii in fhuA with the EM-IgG pool containing the P3055, P3144, P3186 and P3219 sera (336) C: 300 bp library of B. afzelii in fhuA with the NB-IgG pool containing the P3077, P3084, P3286, P3288 and P3337 sera (597), D: 300 bp library of B. afzelii in fhuA with the LBII-IgG pool containg the P3016, P3150, P3301, P3344 and P3394 sera (634), E: 300 bp library of B. afzelii in fhuA with the ACA-IgG pool containg P3183, P3209 and P3336 sera (665), F: 300 bp library of B. afzelii in fhuA with the LA-IgG pool containing P3120, P3239 and P3251 sera (616), G: 50 bp library of B. afzelii in lamB with the LBI-IgG pool (412), H: 50 bp library of B. afzelii in lamB with the EM-IgG pool (300), I: 50 bp library of B. afzelii in lamB with the NB-IgG pool (467), J: 50 bp library of B. afzelii in lamB with the LBII-IgG pool (435), K: 50 bp library of B. afzelii in lamB with the ACA-IgG pool (357), L: 50 bp library of B. afzelii in lamB with the LA-IgG pool (349); *prediction of antigenic sequences longer than 5 amino acids was performed with the program ANTIGENIC (Kolaskar, A. et al., 1990). Listed are the genes from B. afzelii as identified bp BLAST of the determined epitope sequence against the genomic sequence of B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii.

TABLE 2 Table 2: Immunogenic proteins identified from B. afzelii by bacterial surface display and their orthologs from B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii. B. afzelii B. burgdorferi s.s. B. garinii Seq ID Seq ID Seq ID Seq ID Seq ID Seq ID ORF (DNA) (Protein) ORF (DNA) (Protein) ORF (DNA) (Protein) BA0056 1 135 BB0058 269 388 BG0057 507 629 BA0060 2 136 BB0062 270 389 BG0061 508 630 BA0062 3 137 BB0064 271 390 BG0063 509 631 BA0072 4 138 BB0074 272 391 BG0073 510 632 BA0075 5 139 BB0077 273 392 BG0076 511 633 BA0078 6 140 BB0081 274 393 BG0079 512 634 BA0087 7 141 BB0090 275 394 BG0091 513 635 BA0091 8 142 BB0094 276 395 BG0095 514 636 BA0106 9 143 BB0109 277 396 BG0110 515 637 BA0126 10 144 BB0127 278 397 BG0129 516 638 BA0135 11 145 BB0136 279 398 BG0138 517 639 BA0149 12 146 BB0147 280 399 BG0147 518 640 BA0150 13 147 BB0149 281 400 BG0148 519 641 BA0152 14 148 BB0151 282 401 BG0149 520 642 BA0181 15 149 BB0181 283 402 BG0180 521 643 BA0192 16 150 BB0193 284 403 BG0191 522 644 BA0200 17 151 BB0200 285 404 BG0199 523 645 BA0210 18 152 BB0210 286 405 BG0212 524 646 BA0215 19 153 BB0215 287 406 BG0218 525 647 BA0221 20 154 BB0221 288 407 BG0224 526 648 BA0235 21 155 BB0236 289 408 BG0239 527 649 BA0237 22 156 BB0238 290 409 BG0241 528 650 BA0283 23 157 BB0283 291 410 BG0286 529 651 BA0295 24 158 BB0295 292 411 BG0298 530 652 BA0314 25 159 BB0315 293 412 BG0318 531 653 BA0321 26 160 BB0323 294 413 BG0324 532 654 BA0327 27 161 BB0329 295 414 BG0330 533 655 BA0329 28 162 BB0330 296 415 BG0331 534 656 BA0343 29 163 BB0345 297 416 BG0346 535 657 BA0345 30 164 BB0347 298 417 BG0348 536 658 BA0351 31 165 BB0353 299 418 BG0354 537 659 BA0356 32 166 BB0359 300 419 BG0359 538 660 BA0364 33 167 BB0366 301 420 BG0365 539 661 BA0380 34 168 BB0382 302 421 BG0381 540 662 BA0388 35 169 BB0388 303 422 BG0389 541 663 BA0389 36 170 BB0389 304 423 BG0390 542 664 BA0417 37 171 BB0418 305 424 BG0421 543 665 BA0419 38 172 BB0420 306 425 BG0423 544 666 BA0429 39 173 BB0434 307 426 BG0441 545 667 BA0431 40 174 BB0436 308 427 BG0443 546 668 BA0442 41 175 BB0446 309 428 BG0454 547 669 BA0464 42 176 BB0467 310 429 BG0480 548 670 BA0469 43 177 BB0472 311 430 BG0484 549 671 BA0475 44 178 BB0479 312 431 BG0490 550 672 BA0507 45 179 BB0512 313 432 BG0523 551 673 BA0513 46 180 BB0518 314 433 BG0529 552 674 BA0514 47 181 BB0519 315 434 BG0530 553 675 BA0539 48 182 BB0546 316 435 BG0556 554 676 BA0546 49 183 BB0553 317 436 BG0563 555 677 BA0553 50 184 BB0560 318 437 BG0570 556 678 BA0564 51 185 BB0571 319 438 BG0582 557 679 BA0572 52 186 BB0579 320 439 BG0591 558 680 BA0581 53 187 BB0588 321 440 BG0601 559 681 BA0596 54 188 BB0603 322 441 BG0616 560 682 BA0601 55 189 BB0608 323 442 BG0621 561 683 BA0605 56 190 BB0612 324 443 BG0628 562 684 BA0606 57 191 BB0613 325 444 BG0629 563 685 BA0619 58 192 BB0625 326 445 BG0644 564 686 BA0643 59 193 BB0648 327 446 BG0671 565 687 BA0644 60 194 BB0649 328 447 BG0672 566 688 BA0653 61 195 BB0658 329 448 BG0681 567 689 BA0663 62 196 BB0668 330 449 BG0691 568 690 BA0665 63 197 BB0670 331 450 BG0693 569 691 BA0675 64 198 BB0680 332 451 BG0703 570 692 BA0682 65 199 BB0687 333 452 BG0710 571 693 BA0703 66 200 BB0710 334 453 BG0733 572 694 BA0733 67 201 BB0740 335 454 BG0761 573 695 BA0737 68 202 BB0744 336 455 BG0765 574 696 BA0745 69 203 BB0751 337 456 BG0773 575 697 BA0748 70 204 BB0754 338 457 BG0776 576 698 BA0754 71 205 BB0760 339 458 BG0784 577 699 BA0759 72 206 BB0765 340 459 BG0788 578 700 BA0767 73 207 BB0772 341 460 BG0796 579 701 BA0778 74 208 BB0783 342 461 BG0807 580 702 BA0784 75 209 BB0789 343 462 BG0814 581 703 BA0790 76 210 BB0794 344 463 BG0820 582 704 BA0792 77 211 BB0796 345 464 BG0822 583 705 BA0829 78 212 BB0832 346 465 BG0857 584 706 BAP001 79 213 BB0844 347 466 BGP096 585 707 BAP002 80 214 BBA03 348 467 BGA02 586 708 BAP003 81 215 BBA04 349 468 BGA03 587 709 BAP004 82 216 BBA21 350 469 BGA19 588 710 BAP005 83 217 BBA24 351 470 BGA21 589 711 BAP006 84 218 BBA34 352 471 BGA28 590 712 BAP007 85 219 BBA36 353 472 BGA30 591 713 BAP008 86 220 BBA57 354 473 BGA58 592 714 BAP009 87 221 BBA73 355 474 BGA73 593 715 BAP010 88 222 BBB07 356 475 BGB07 594 716 BAP011 89 223 BBB16 357 476 BGB15 595 717 BAP012 90 224 BBB17 358 477 BGB16 596 718 BAP013 91 225 BBB19 359 478 BGB18 597 719 BAP014 92 226 BBC01 360 479 BGP276 598 720 BAP015 93 227 BBG10 361 480 BGP027 599 721 BAP016 94 228 BBG12 362 481 BGP025 600 722 BAP017 95 229 BBG21 363 482 BGP016 601 723 BAP018 96 230 BBG23 364 483 BGP013 602 724 BAP019 97 231 BBG24 365 484 BGP012 603 725 BAP020 98 232 BBG30 366 485 BGP003 604 726 BAP021 99 233 BBH13 367 486 BGP289 605 727 BAP022 100 234 BBE02 368 487 BGP199 606 728 BAP023 101 235 BBI38 369 488 BGA66 607 729 BAP024 102 236 BBK32 370 489 BGP100 608 730 BAP025 103 237 BBM06 371 490 BGP040 609 731 BAP026 104 238 BBQ34 372 491 BGP132 610 732 BAP027 105 239 BBM03 373 492 BGP043 611 733 BAP028 106 240 BBR15 374 493 BGP069 612 734 BAP029 107 241 BBM38 375 494 BGP049 613 735 BAP030 108 242 BBN34 376 495 BGP235 614 736 BAP031 109 243 BBO39 377 496 BGP260 615 737 BAP032 110 244 BBP28 378 497 BGP082 616 738 BAP033 111 245 BBQ03 379 498 BGP310 617 739 BAP034 112 246 BBQ32 380 499 BGP190 618 740 BAP035 113 247 BBS29 381 500 BGP001 619 741 BAP036 114 248 BBR35 382 501 BGP302 620 742 BAP037 115 249 BBN33 383 502 BGP313 621 743 BAP038 116 250 BBS36 384 503 BGP301 622 744 BAP039 117 251 no match BGA26 623 745 BAP040 118 252 BBG15 385 504 BGP022 624 746 BAP041 119 253 no match BGP036 625 747 BAP042 120 254 BBK53 386 505 BGP085 626 748 BAP043 121 255 BBG19 387 506 BGP267 627 749 BAP044 122 256 no match BGP321 628 750 BAP045/ 123 257 BBS42 123 257 no match BBS42 CRFA006 124 258 CRFA514 125 259 CRFA554 126 260 CRFA657 127 261 CRFA744 128 262 CRFA762 129 263 CRFA780 130 264 CRFBD21 131 265 CRFBI14 132 266 CRFBO17 133 267 CRFP316 134 268

Table 2 shows the identified genes from B. afzelii with the respective sequence identification numbers. The best matches in a Blast analysis from B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii are listed together with their respective sequence identification numbers.

TABLE 3 Table 3: List of strains used for gene distribution analysis. Dis- No. Strain Genospecies OspA ospC Isolation ease 1 M76 B. garinii 6 020 CSF H Inv 2 W B. garinii 5 013 CSF H Inv 3 P B. afzelii 2 008 Skin H Inv 4 K6 B. garinii 6 019 Skin H Inv 5 K67 B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 047 Skin H 6 N40 B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 026 I. scapularis — 7 Sh-2-82 B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 030 I. scapularis H Inv 8 K86 B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 028 Skin H 9 LAS B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 002 Skin H Inv 10 HB19 B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 004 Blood H Inv 11 Lenz B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 002 Myocardium H Inv 12 10/2002 B. afzelii 2 037 Skin H 13 BITS-B B. garinii 6 017 I. ricinus H Inv 14 57 B. garinii 5 013 CSF H Inv 15 60 B. garinii 6 012 CSF H Inv 16 130/91 B. afzelii 2 010 Skin H 17 H13 B. garinii 6 025 Heart H Inv 18 K78 B. afzelii 2 007 Skin H 19 VS461 B. afzelii 2 022 I. ricinus H Inv 20 B31 B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 002 I. scapularis H Inv 21 PKo B. afzelii 2 009 Skin H Inv 22 Z10 B. garinii 2 034 I. ricinus H Inv 23 Bol10 B. garinii 3 023 CSF H Inv 24 ZS7 B. burgdorferi s.s. 1 001 I. ricinus H Inv 25 NBS16 B. garinii 3 033 I. ricinus H 26 KL11 B. garinii 6 019 I. ricinus H Inv 27 H9 B. afzelii 2 005 Skin H 28 123/91 B. afzelii 2 011 Skin H 29 Simon B. afzelii 2 011 Skin H 30 ACA1 B. afzelii 2 008 Skin H Inv

Table 3 shows the representation of different strains of B. burgdorferi s.l. isolates analysed for the gene distribution study. The genospecies, OspA and ospC types (Wilske et al., 1988; Livey et al., 1995) and the source of isolation are given (CSF; cerebrospinal fluid). In addition, the type of disease associated with the corresponding ospC type is given, H; non invasive disease, H Inv; invasive disease,—; not associated with disease in humans.

TABLE 4 Table 4: Gene distribution analysis for a selected number of antigens in various strains of the B. burgdorferi s.l. strains. Seq ID Gene Ba ORF (DNA) distribution BA0056 1 26/30 BA0060 2 30/30 BA0062 3 19/20 BA0072 4 20/20 BA0075 5  6/20 BA0078 6 30/30 BA0087 7 30/30 BA0091 8 30/30 BA0106 9 30/30 BA0126 10 20/20 BA0135 11 30/30 BA0149 12 20/20 BA0150 13 20/20 BA0152 14 20/20 BA0181 15 20/20 BA0192 16 24/30 BA0200 17 27/30 BA0210 18 28/30 BA0215 19 29/30 BA0221 20 20/20 BA0235 21 30/30 BA0237 22 10/20 BA0283 23 20/20 BA0295 24 20/20 BA0314 25  8/20 BA0321 26 30/30 BA0327 27 13/20 BA0329 28 30/30 BA0343 29 19/20 BA0345 30 19/30 BA0351 31 12/20 BA0356 32 28/30 BA0364 33 30/30 BA0380 34 29/30 BA0388 35 17/20 BA0389 36 20/20 BA0417 37 30/30 BA0419 38  0/20 BA0429 39  9/20 BA0431 40 20/20 BA0442 41 30/30 BA0464 42 30/30 BA0469 43 28/30 BA0475 44 16/20 BA0507 45 30/30 BA0513 46 16/20 BA0514 47  4/20 BA0539 48 20/20 BA0546 49 11/20 BA0553 50 19/20 BA0564 51 30/30 BA0572 52 20/20 BA0581 53 30/30 BA0596 54 30/30 BA0601 55 16/20 BA0605 56 28/30 BA0606 57 13/20 BA0619 58 13/20 BA0643 59 30/30 BA0644 60 19/20 BA0653 61 30/30 BA0663 62 20/20 BA0665 63 30/30 BA0675 64 30/30 BA0682 65 30/30 BA0703 66 19/20 BA0733 67 29/30 BA0737 68 26/30 BA0745 69 30/30 BA0748 70 30/30 BA0754 71 30/30 BA0759 72 30/30 BA0767 73 19/20 BA0778 74  1/20 BA0784 75 30/30 BA0790 76 26/30 BA0792 77 30/30 BA0829 78 28/30 BAP001 79  5/20 BAP002 80  8/20 BAP003 81 22/30 BAP004 82 30/30 BAP005 83  0/20 BAP006 84 29/30 BAP007 85 30/30 BAP008 86  8/20 BAP009 87 11/20 BAP011 89  4/20 BAP012 90 20/20 BAP013 91 30/30 BAP014 92 12/30 BAP015 93 11/20 BAP016 94 13/20 BAP017 95 12/20 BAP018 96  2/20 BAP019 97 11/20 BAP020 98  0/30 BAP021 99 22/30 BAP022 100 26/30 BAP023 101 26/30 BAP024 102 18/30 BAP025 103 30/30 BAP026 104  8/20 BAP027 105 26/30 BAP028 106  8/20 BAP029 107  6/30 BAP030 108 11/20 BAP031 109  8/20 BAP032 110  0/20 BAP033 111 12/20 BAP034 112 10/20 BAP035 113  9/20 BAP036 114 10/20 BAP037/ 115  4/20 BAP038 116 BAP039 117  0/20 BAP040 118  0/20 BAP041 119  0/20 BAP042 120  3/20 BAP043 121 28/30 BAP044 122  1/20 BAP045/ 123  9/20 BBS42

Thirty B. burgdorferi s.l. strains as shown in Table 3 were tested by PCR with oligonucleotides specific for the genes encoding relevant antigens. The gene distribution table lists the number of positive PCR results from either the first 20 strains or all 30 strains and is an indication of the presence and conservation of the gene in diverse isolates of B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies.

TABLE 5 Table 5: Immunogenicity of epitopes in mice. Seq ID Seq ID injection Peptide aa ORF (DNA) (Protein) name peptide name ELISA (start-stop) BA0056 1 135 Baf28 BAObb0058.03 ++ 257-278 BA0062 3 137 Baf89 BAObb0064.01 +++ 159-188 BAObb0064.02 ++ 184-213 BA0072 4 138 Baf70 BAObb0074.01 ++ 230-251 BAObb0074.02 ++++ 247-267 BA0075 5 139 Baf104 BAOba0077.01 +++ 138-164 BAOba0077.02 ++ 160-187 BA0078 6 140 Baf77 BAObb0081.01 +  97-120 BAObb0081.02 ++ 116-139 BAObb0081.03 ++ 135-158 BAObb0081.04 ++ 154-177 BA0087 7 141 Baf127 BAOba0089.01 +++ 160-187 BA0106 9 143 Baf83 BAObb0109.01 + 165-192 BAObb0109.02 ++++ 188-214 BA0126 10 144 Baf113 BAOba0128.01 + 350-378 BA0135 11 145 Baf22 BAOpbp-1.02 +++ 62-86 BAOpbp-1.03 +  82-106 BA0149 12 146 Baf11 BAOflaB.01 +++ 18-42 BAOflaB.02 +++ 38-62 BAOflaB.04 +  78-102 BAOflaB.05 +++  98-122 BAOflaB.06 + 118-142 BAOflaB.07 ++++ 138-165 Baf12 BAOflaB.09 +++ 275-297 BAOflaB.10 +++ 293-315 BAOflaB.12 + 185-211 BAOflaB.13 +++ 207-233 BAOflaB.14 ++ 229-255 BA0150 13 147 Baf23 BAOfliD.01 + 22-50 BAOfliD.02 + 46-75 BAOfliD.03 ++ 110-131 BAOfliD.04 ++ 127-148 Baf24 BAOfliD.07 + 344-367 BAOfliD.08 +++ 361-384 BAOfliD.09 +++ 382-405 BAOfliD.10 ++ 401-424 BA0152 14 148 Baf114 BAOba0155.03 ++ 304-328 BA0181 15 149 Baf35 BAObb0181.01 +  6-29 BAObb0181.04 +++ 68-92 BAObb0181.05 ++++  88-112 Baf36 BAObb0181.10 +++ 449-471 BAObb0181.12 ++ 485-507 BA0210 18 152 Baf1 BAOlmp1.01 +++ 937-962 BAOlmp1.02 ++ 958-983 Baf2 BAOlmp1.03 +++ 102-130 BAOlmp1.04 +++ 126-154 BA0215 19 153 Baf71 BAObb0215.01 ++  80-103 BAObb0215.02 ++  99-122 BAObb0215.03 ++ 118-141 BAObb0215.04 ++ 137-159 BA0221 20 154 Baf26 BAOfliG-1.04 +++ 270-299 BA0235 21 155 Baf105 BAOba0242.01 + 126-153 BAOba0242.03 ++ 172-200 BA0237 22 156 Baf15 BAObb0238.01 + 15-40 BAObb0238.02 +++ 36-61 BAObb0238.03 + 57-82 BAObb0238.04 +++ 78-103 BAObb0238.05 ++++  99-124 BA0283 23 157 Baf37 BAObb0283.01 + 35-63 BAObb0283.03 +++  82-109 BA0321 26 160 Baf58 BAObb0323.06 +++ 298-327 BA0327 27 161 Baf18 BAOoppA-2.01 +++ 20-43 BAOoppA-2.02 + 39-62 BAOoppA-2.03 +++ 58-79 Baf19 BAOoppA-2.12 ++ 354-377 Baf20 BAOoppA-2.13 + 404-431 BAOoppA-2.14 ++ 427-453 BAOoppA-2.15 ++ 449-475 BAOoppA-2.16 +++ 471-498 BAOoppA-2.17 + 494-521 BA0329 28 162 Baf34 BAOoppA-3.01 ++ 40-62 BAOoppA-3.02 + 58-80 BAOoppA-3.03 + 76-97 BAOoppA-3.04 ++++ 251-276 BAOoppA-3.05 ++++ 272-297 BAOoppA-3.06 +++ 291-316 BAOoppA-3.08 + 333-358 BA0351 31 165 Baf38 BAObb0353.01 ++ 197-222 BAObb0353.03 ++ 239-264 BAObb0353.04 + 260-284 BA0356 32 166 Baf55 BAObb0359.01 ++++ 378-402 BAObb0359.04 + 438-461 BA0364 33 167 Baf93 BAOba0378.01 ++++  82-107 BAOba0378.02 ++++ 103-127 BAOba0378.03 + 212-235 BAOba0378.04 + 231-253 BA0388 35 169 Baf107 BAOba0402.01 ++++ 1053-1082 BA0389 36 170 Baf118 BAOba0403.05 +++ 270-292 BA0417 37 171 Baf78 BAObb0418.01 ++ 44-65 BAObb0418.02 + 61-82 BAObb0418.03 + 78-99 BA0419 38 172 Baf59 BAObb0420.01 ++ 1230-1254 BA0429 39 173 Baf97 BAOba0444.01 + 110-131 BA0431 40 174 Baf84 BAObb0436.01 ++++ 372-395 BAObb0436.03 +++ 410-434 BA0442 41 175 Baf85 BAObb0446.01 + 439-464 BA0464 42 176 Baf98 BAOba0480.03 + 52-77 BA0469 43 177 Baf108 BAOba0485.01 ++++ 281-300 BAOba0485.02 +++ 296-316 BA0475 44 178 Baf99 BAOba0491.01 ++ 33-57 BAOba0491.02 ++ 53-78 BA0507 45 179 Baf39 BAObb0512.01 ++ 718-744 BAObb0512.02 ++ 740-766 BAObb0512.03 + 762-788 BA0513 46 180 Baf64 BAObb0518.01 + 66-93 BAObb0518.02 +  89-116 BAObb0518.03 ++++ 112-139 BAObb0518.04 ++ 135-161 BA0539 48 182 Baf119 BAOba0557.01 ++ 171-197 BA0553 50 184 Baf90 BAOba0573.01 ++ 102-127 BAOba0573.02 + 123-148 BAOba0573.03 ++++ 144-170 BA0581 53 187 Baf86 BAObb0588.01 +  91-114 BAObb0588.02 + 110-133 BA0596 54 188 Baf40 BAOp66.01 ++ 36-60 BAOp66.02 ++ 56-80 BAOp66.03 +  76-100 BAOp66.04 +  96-119 Baf41 BAOp66.05 ++++ 343-371 BAOp66.06 +++ 367-394 BA0605 56 190 Baf42 BAObb0612.01 ++ 156-183 BAObb0612.02 + 179-206 BAObb0612.03 + 202-229 BAObb0612.04 ++ 225-252 BAObb0612.05 ++ 248-274 BA0619 58 192 Baf30 BAOamds.02 ++  98-125 BAOamds.03 + 121-148 BAOamds.04 + 144-170 BAOamds.05 + 165-187 BAOamds.07 + 201-223 Baf31 BAOamds.08 +++ 285-309 BA0643 59 193 Baf129 BAOba0670.01 + 390-409 BA0644 60 194 Baf72 BAObb0649.01 +  6-33 BAObb0649.02 ++ 29-55 BAObb0649.03 + 52-79 BAObb0649.04 +  74-100 BA0653 61 195 Baf43 BAObb0658.02 ++ 172-200 BAObb0658.03 ++ 196-223 BA0663 62 196 Baf44 BAOflaA.01 +++ 12-39 BAOflaA.02 +++ 35-62 BAOflaA.03 ++++ 58-84 BAOflaA.04 + 156-179 BAOflaA.05 +++ 175-197 BA0675 64 198 Baf45 BAObb0680.01 + 28-53 BAObb0680.02 + 49-73 BAObb0680.03 ++ 165-188 BAObb0680.04 + 184-207 BAObb0680.05 ++ 203-226 BAObb0680.06 +++ 292-320 BAObb0680.07 + 316-344 BAObb0680.08 ++ 531-560 BAObb0680.09 + 556-584 BAObb0680.10 + 580-608 BA0703 66 200 Baf101 BAObb0710.02 ++ 200-228 BA0737 68 202 Baf16 BAOp83.06 +++ 348-374 BA0745 69 203 Baf110 BAOba0779.01 +++ 116-143 BAOba0779.02 ++++ 139-166 BA0748 70 204 Baf87 BAObb0754.01 ++ 203-227 BA0759 72 206 Baf46 BAObb0765.01 + 183-208 BAObb0765.02 ++ 204-229 BAObb0765.03 ++++ 225-250 BA0778 74 208 Baf47 BAObb0783.03 ++++ 359-384 BA0784 75 209 Baf96 BAOba0819.01 + 353-378 BAOba0819.02 ++++ 374-399 BAOba0819.03 +++ 395-419 BA0790 76 210 Baf48 BAObb0794.03 + 1372-1398 BAObb0794.04 ++ 1394-1419 BA0792 77 211 Baf49 BAObb0796.01 +++ 14-38 BAObb0796.02 +++ 34-58 BAObb0796.03 + 54-78 BA0829 78 212 Baf111 BAObb0832.02 +  95-122 BAObb0832.03 + 118-146 BAP001 79 213 Baf69 BAObgp096.01 + 20-44 BAObgp096.02 + 40-64 BAObgp096.03 + 60-84 BAObgp096.04 +++  80-104 BAObgp096.05 + 138-162 BAObgp096.06 + 158-182 BAObgp096.07 + 178-201 BAP002 80 214 Baf65 BAObba03.01 +++ 41-67 BAObba03.02 +++ 63-89 BAObba03.03 ++++  85-111 BAObba03.04 ++++ 107-133 BAP003 81 215 Baf80 BAObba04.01 +++ 165-185 BAObba04.02 + 181-200 BAP005 83 217 Baf66 BAObba24.01 +++ 15-44 BAObba24.02 +++ 40-68 BAObba24.03 + 64-92 BAP006 84 218 Baf25 BAOoppA-4.01 + 335-360 BAOoppA-4.02 + 356-381 BAOoppA-4.03 + 422-446 BAOoppA-4.04 + 442-465 BAP007 85 219 Baf67 BAObba36.01 + 50-74 BAObba36.02 + 70-94 BAObba36.03 +  90-114 BAObba36.04 + 110-133 BAObba36.06 + 164-192 BAObba36.07 + 188-215 BAP008 86 220 Baf91 BAObba57.01 ++++  91-116 BAObba57.02 ++++ 112-137 BAObba57.03 + 133-158 BAObba57.04 ++++ 154-179 BAP012 90 224 Baf122 BAObbb17.01 +++ 331-352 BAP013 91 225 Baf94 BAObbb19.01 + 116-143 BAObbb19.02 ++++ 139-166 BAObbb19.03 ++++ 162-189 BAObbb19.04 ++++ 185-212 BAP015 93 227 Baf6 BAObgp027.19 +++  3-27 Baf7 BAObgp027.08 +++ 616-640 BAObgp027.09 + 636-659 BAObgp027.10 + 655-678 BAObgp027.12 ++ 576-598 BAObgp027.13 + 594-615 BAObgp027.14 +++ 611-632 Baf8 BAObgp027.01 + 693-718 BAObgp027.02 + 714-739 BAP016 94 228 Baf123 BAObbg12.01 ++++ 32-45 BAP017 95 229 Baf3 BAObbg21.01 ++++ 112-135 BAObbg21.02 +++ 131-153 BAObbg21.04 + 324-349 BAObbg21.05 + 345-370 BAObbg21.06 + 366-391 BAP018 96 230 Baf63 BAObbg23.02 + 122-143 BAObbg23.04 + 170-195 BAP019 97 231 Baf4 BAObbg24.04 +++ 377-400 BAObbg24.05 +++ 396-419 Baf5 BAObbg24.02 ++++  91-115 BAObbg24.03 ++++ 111-135 BAP021 99 233 Baf73 BAObbg33.01 +++  3-27 BAObbg33.02 ++ 23-47 BAObbg33.03 + 43-68 Baf143 BAObbh13.01 +++  4-30 BAObbh13.02 +++ 26-52 BAP022 100 234 Baf50 BAObbh09.04 ++++ 400-429 BAObbh09.05 + 521-545 BAP023 101 235 Baf81 BAObbj41.01 +++ 61-84 BAObbj41.02 +  80-103 BAObbj41.03 ++++  99-122 BAP024 102 236 Baf13 BAOp35.01 +  8-31 BAOp35.07 ++ 124-149 Baf14 BAOp35.09 ++ 166-191 BAOp35.11 + 207-232 BAOp35.12 ++ 265-294 BAOp35.13 +++ 290-318 BAP025 103 237 Baf51 BAObbl06.01 ++++ 20-43 BAObbl06.02 ++ 39-62 BAObbl06.03 +  95-122 BAObbl06.04 +++ 117-143 Baf75 BAObbq13.01 ++ 133-159 BAObbq13.02 +++ 155-181 BAP026 104 238 Baf88 BAObbr27.01 +++  1-29 BAP027 105 239 Baf103 BAObgp043.01 + 121-143 BAObgp043.02 + 139-160 BAObgp043.03 +++ 156-178 BAP028 106 240 Baf57 BAObbn15.01 ++++ 195-219 BAP030 108 242 Baf52 BAObbo34.01 +++  4-32 BAObbo34.02 + 27-54 BAObbo34.03 ++++ 50-77 BAP031 109 243 Baf92 BAObbs41.01 +++ 160-186 BAObbs41.02 + 182-208 Baf54 BAObbr42.01 +++ 122-149 BAP032 110 244 Baf74 BAObbp28.01 ++++ 48-73 BAObbp28.02 +++ 69-94 BAP033 111 245 Baf32 BAOomp.04 +++ 151-173 BAP034 112 246 Baf53 BAObbq32.01 +++ 14-41 BAObbq32.02 +++ 37-63 BAP035 113 247 Baf125 BAObgp001.01 +++  7-30 BAObgp001.02 +++ 26-49 BAObgp001.03 ++ 45-69 BAP036 114 248 Baf112 BAObbr35.01 ++  1-21 BAObbr35.02 ++ 17-44 BAP038 116 250 Baf10 BAObbs36.03 + 43-66 BAP039 117 251 Baf124 BAObga26.02 ++++ 47-71 BAObga26.03 ++++ 67-91 BAP040 118 252 Baf126 BAObgp022.02 +++ 39-60 BAObgp022.03 ++++ 56-78 BAP041 119 253 Baf142 BAObgp036.03 +++ 199-224 BAP042 120 254 Baf76 BAObgp085.01 +++ 70-94 BAObgp085.02 ++++  90-113 BAP043 121 255 Baf68 BAObbq34.03 ++ 48-70 BAP044 122 256 Baf95 BAObgp321.01 +  1-25 BAObgp321.02 + 21-45 BAObgp321.03 ++ 41-65 BAP045 123 257 Baf102 BAObbs42.01 ++ 27-51 B. burgdorferi s.l. antigens were tested for immunogenicity by immunization with E. coli clones harbouring plasmids encoding the platform proteins FhuA or LamB fused to B. burgdorferi s.l. peptides. The presence of epitope-specific antibodies was detected and measured by peptide ELISA. Results are expressed as − to ++++, and calculated as the sum of the reactivities of individual mouse sera based on OD405nm (−; 0-0.1, + 0.1-0.2, ++; 0.2-0.4, +++; 0.4-0.8, ++++; >0.8).

TABLE 6 Table 6: Peptide ELISA with peptides derived from B. burgdorferi s.l.. From Peptide Ba ORF Seq ID Sum aa To aa BAOamds.02 BA0619 192 2 98 125 BAOamds.04 BA0619 192 7 144 170 BAOamds.05 BA0619 192 4 165 187 BAOamds.07 BA0619 192 14 201 223 BAOamds.08 BA0619 192 15 285 309 BAOamds.09 BA0619 192 9 305 329 BAOamds.10 BA0619 192 7 325 348 BAOamds.11 BA0619 192 19 400 425 BAOamds.12 BA0619 192 8 513 541 BAOamds.13 BA0619 192 2 537 564 BAOamds.14 BA0619 192 2 560 587 BAOamds.15 BA0619 192 3 583 610 BAOba0077.01 BA0075 139 20 138 164 BAOba0077.02 BA0075 139 14 160 187 BAOba0089.01 BA0087 141 12 160 187 BAOba0128.01 BA0126 144 15 350 378 BAOba0128.02 BA0126 144 18 374 402 BAOba0128.03 BA0126 144 9 398 426 BAOba0128.04 BA0126 144 17 422 451 BAOba0155.01 BA0152 148 3 264 288 BAOba0155.02 BA0152 148 11 284 308 BAOba0155.03 BA0152 148 10 304 328 BAOba0198.01 BA0192 150 8 77 91 BAOba0207.01 BA0200 151 10 111 134 BAOba0242.01 BA0235 155 6 126 153 BAOba0242.02 BA0235 155 11 149 176 BAOba0242.03 BA0235 155 17 172 200 BAOba0303.01 BA0295 158 12 220 245 BAOba0303.02 BA0295 158 10 241 266 BAOba0303.03 BA0295 158 4 262 288 BAOba0323.01 BA0314 159 1 31 53 BAOba0323.02 BA0314 159 13 49 71 BAOba0323.03 BA0314 159 20 67 89 BAOba0356.01 BA0343 163 13 258 280 BAOba0356.02 BA0343 163 10 276 298 BAOba0356.03 BA0343 163 12 294 317 BAOba0356.04 BA0343 163 11 313 336 BAOba0358.01 BA0345 164 13 458 472 BAOba0378.01 BA0364 167 8 82 107 BAOba0378.02 BA0364 167 14 103 127 BAOba0378.02 BA0364 167 7 103 127 BAOba0378.03 BA0364 167 13 212 235 BAOba0378.03 BA0364 167 2 212 235 BAOba0378.04 BA0364 167 18 231 253 BAOba0378.04 BA0364 167 4 231 253 BAOba0394.01 BA0380 168 12 26 51 BAOba0394.02 BA0380 168 10 47 73 BAOba0402.01 BA0388 169 6 1053 1082 BAOba0403.01 BA0389 170 5 194 217 BAOba0403.02 BA0389 170 17 213 236 BAOba0403.03 BA0389 170 15 232 255 BAOba0403.04 BA0389 170 5 251 274 BAOba0403.05 BA0389 170 15 270 292 BAOba0444.01 BA0429 173 10 110 131 BAOba0444.02 BA0429 173 4 179 201 BAOba0444.03 BA0429 173 11 197 219 BAOba0444.04 BA0429 173 2 215 236 BAOba0480.01 BA0464 176 5 12 36 BAOba0480.02 BA0464 176 3 32 56 BAOba0480.03 BA0464 176 11 52 77 BAOba0485.01 BA0469 177 12 281 300 BAOba0485.02 BA0469 177 16 296 316 BAOba0491.01 BA0475 178 12 33 57 BAOba0491.02 BA0475 178 4 53 78 BAOba0557.01 BA0539 182 9 171 197 BAOba0557.02 BA0539 182 7 193 219 BAOba0557.03 BA0539 182 6 215 240 BAOba0565.01 BA0546 183 13 363 388 BAOba0565.02 BA0546 183 20 384 409 BAOba0565.03 BA0546 183 4 405 430 BAOba0573.01 BA0553 184 5 102 127 BAOba0573.02 BA0553 184 5 123 148 BAOba0573.03 BA0553 184 7 144 170 BAOba0584.01 BA0564 185 13 149 163 BAOba0623.01 BA0601 189 1 342 366 BAOba0623.02 BA0601 189 14 362 386 BAOba0670.01 BA0643 193 17 390 409 BAOba0692.01 BA0665 197 9 50 64 BAOba0710.01 BA0682 199 5 223 249 BAOba0710.02 BA0682 199 13 245 272 BAOba0765.01 BA0733 201 9 117 131 BAOba0779.01 BA0745 203 15 116 143 BAOba0779.02 BA0745 203 3 139 166 BAOba0789.01 BA0754 205 3 1 21 BAOba0802.01 BA0767 207 10 245 270 BAOba0802.02 BA0767 207 11 266 291 BAOba0802.03 BA0767 207 6 287 312 BAOba0802.04 BA0767 207 3 308 332 BAOba0819.01 BA0784 209 2 353 378 BAOba0819.02 BA0784 209 16 374 399 BAOba0819.03 BA0784 209 8 395 419 BAObb0832.02 BA0829 212 7 95 122 BAObb0832.03 BA0829 212 14 118 146 BAObb0058.01 BA0056 135 17 128 151 BAObb0058.02 BA0056 135 6 146 169 BAObb0058.06 BA0056 135 2 314 336 BAObb0058.07 BA0056 135 12 339 361 BAObb0058.08 BA0056 135 15 357 379 BAObb0064.01 BA0062 137 6 159 188 BAObb0064.02 BA0062 137 6 184 213 BAObb0074.01 BA0072 138 9 230 251 BAObb0074.02 BA0072 138 2 247 267 BAObb0081.01 BA0078 140 1 97 120 BAObb0081.02 BA0078 140 2 116 139 BAObb0081.03 BA0078 140 5 135 158 BAObb0081.04 BA0078 140 2 154 177 BAObb0094.01 BA0091 142 6 195 228 BAObb0109.01 BA0106 143 8 165 192 BAObb0109.02 BA0106 143 6 188 214 BAObb0181.01 BA0181 149 10 6 29 BAObb0181.02 BA0181 149 4 25 47 BAObb0181.03 BA0181 149 10 43 65 BAObb0181.04 BA0181 149 1 68 92 BAObb0181.06 BA0181 149 17 262 288 BAObb0181.08 BA0181 149 7 306 331 BAObb0181.09 BA0181 149 2 326 351 BAObb0181.10 BA0181 149 2 449 471 BAObb0181.11 BA0181 149 1 467 489 BAObb0181.12 BA0181 149 3 485 507 BAObb0215.01 BA0215 153 5 80 103 BAObb0215.02 BA0215 153 1 99 122 BAObb0215.03 BA0215 153 5 118 141 BAObb0215.04 BA0215 153 15 137 159 BAObb0238.01 BA0237 156 2 15 40 BAObb0238.02 BA0237 156 16 36 61 BAObb0238.03 BA0237 156 9 57 82 BAObb0238.04 BA0237 156 3 78 103 BAObb0238.05 BA0237 156 5 99 124 BAObb0238.06 BA0237 156 7 120 146 BAObb0283.01 BA0283 157 4 35 63 BAObb0283.02 BA0283 157 2 59 86 BAObb0283.04 BA0283 157 3 187 213 BAObb0283.05 BA0283 157 2 209 235 BAObb0283.07 BA0283 157 3 252 277 BAObb0323.01 BA0321 160 10 83 108 BAObb0323.02 BA0321 160 11 104 129 BAObb0323.03 BA0321 160 8 125 150 BAObb0323.04 BA0321 160 7 146 172 BAObb0323.05 BA0321 160 7 272 302 BAObb0323.06 BA0321 160 9 298 327 BAObb0353.01 BA0351 165 13 197 222 BAObb0353.02 BA0351 165 16 218 243 BAObb0353.03 BA0351 165 15 239 264 BAObb0353.04 BA0351 165 16 260 284 BAObb0359.01 BA0356 166 16 378 402 BAObb0359.02 BA0356 166 17 398 422 BAObb0359.03 BA0356 166 18 418 442 BAObb0359.04 BA0356 166 17 438 461 BAObb0418.01 BA0417 171 15 44 65 BAObb0418.02 BA0417 171 1 61 82 BAObb0418.03 BA0417 171 1 78 99 BAObb0420.01 BA0419 172 5 1230 1254 BAObb0420.02 BA0419 172 7 150 1275 BAObb0436.01 BA0431 174 7 372 395 BAObb0436.02 BA0431 174 4 391 414 BAObb0436.03 BA0431 174 5 410 434 BAObb0446.01 BA0442 175 5 439 464 BAObb0512.01 BA0507 179 17 718 744 BAObb0512.02 BA0507 179 15 740 766 BAObb0512.03 BA0507 179 17 762 788 BAObb0512.04 BA0507 179 17 906 931 BAObb0512.05 BA0507 179 17 927 951 BAObb0512.06 BA0507 179 17 947 971 BAObb0518.01 BA0513 180 1 66 93 BAObb0518.04 BA0513 180 1 135 161 BAObb0518.05 BA0513 180 2 494 518 BAObb0519.01 BA0514 181 7 40 61 BAObb0519.02 BA0514 181 11 57 79 BAObb0519.03 BA0514 181 8 75 97 BAObb0579.01 BA0572 186 2 440 462 BAObb0579.02 BA0572 186 4 458 480 BAObb0579.03 BA0572 186 2 476 497 BAObb0588.01 BA0581 187 5 91 114 BAObb0588.02 BA0581 187 5 110 133 BAObb0588.03 BA0581 187 4 129 152 BAObb0588.04 BA0581 187 3 148 170 BAObb0612.01 BA0605 190 16 156 183 BAObb0612.02 BA0605 190 12 179 206 BAObb0612.03 BA0605 190 16 202 229 BAObb0612.04 BA0605 190 17 225 252 BAObb0612.05 BA0605 190 15 248 274 BAObb0613.01 BA0606 191 11 747 773 BAObb0613.02 BA0606 191 13 769 795 BAObb0649.01 BA0644 194 9 6 33 BAObb0649.02 BA0644 194 9 29 55 BAObb0649.03 BA0644 194 13 52 79 BAObb0649.04 BA0644 194 2 74 100 BAObb0658.01 BA0653 195 15 148 176 BAObb0658.02 BA0653 195 16 172 200 BAObb0658.03 BA0653 195 16 196 223 BAObb0680.01 BA0675 198 14 28 53 BAObb0680.02 BA0675 198 15 49 73 BAObb0680.03 BA0675 198 17 165 188 BAObb0680.05 BA0675 198 16 203 226 BAObb0680.06 BA0675 198 2 292 320 BAObb0680.07 BA0675 198 1 316 344 BAObb0680.08 BA0675 198 2 531 560 BAObb0710.01 BA0703 200 5 180 208 BAObb0710.02 BA0703 200 5 200 228 BAObb0754.01 BA0748 204 4 203 227 BAObb0754.02 BA0748 204 9 223 247 BAObb0754.03 BA0748 204 4 243 267 BAObb0754.04 BA0748 204 6 263 287 BAObb0783.02 BA0778 208 2 339 363 BAObb0783.03 BA0778 208 1 359 384 BAObb0794.03 BA0790 210 7 1372 1398 BAObb0796.01 BA0792 211 16 14 38 BAObb0796.02 BA0792 211 3 34 58 BAObb0796.04 BA0792 211 7 74 98 BAObb0796.05 BA0792 211 2 94 117 BAObba03.01 BAP002 214 1 41 67 BAObba03.02 BAP002 214 3 63 89 BAObba03.05 BAP002 214 1 129 155 BAObba04.01 BAP003 215 1 165 185 BAObba04.02 BAP003 215 5 181 200 BAObba21.01 BAP004 216 5 26 44 BAObba24.01 BAP005 217 3 15 44 BAObba24.02 BAP005 217 2 40 68 BAObba24.03 BAP005 217 1 64 92 BAObba36.03 BAP007 219 1 90 114 BAObba36.04 BAP007 219 1 110 133 BAObba36.05 BAP007 219 2 140 168 BAObba36.06 BAP007 219 2 164 192 BAObba36.07 BAP007 219 2 188 215 BAObba57.01 BAP008 220 4 91 116 BAObba57.02 BAP008 220 6 112 137 BAObba57.03 BAP008 220 6 133 158 BAObba57.04 BAP008 220 8 154 179 BAObbb16.01 BAP011 223 8 311 338 BAObbb16.02 BAP011 223 6 334 361 BAObbb16.03 BAP011 223 9 357 385 BAObbb16.04 BAP011 223 7 381 409 BAObbb16.05 BAP011 223 8 405 433 BAObbb17.01 BAP012 224 9 331 352 BAObbb17.02 BAP012 224 9 348 369 BAObbb17.03 BAP012 224 4 365 386 BAObbb19.01 BAP013 225 12 116 143 BAObbb19.01 BAP013 225 6 116 143 BAObbb19.02 BAP013 225 14 139 166 BAObbb19.02 BAP013 225 2 139 166 BAObbb19.03 BAP013 225 20 162 189 BAObbb19.03 BAP013 225 9 162 189 BAObbb19.04 BAP013 225 17 185 212 BAObbb19.04 BAP013 225 9 185 212 BAObbc01.01 BAP014 226 3 208 230 BAObbg12.01 BAP016 228 5 32 45 BAObbg12.02 BAP016 228 4 50 72 BAObbg21.02 BAP017 229 3 131 153 BAObbg21.03 BAP017 229 9 149 172 BAObbg21.04 BAP017 229 5 324 349 BAObbg21.05 BAP017 229 1 345 370 BAObbg21.06 BAP017 229 14 366 391 BAObbg23.01 BAP018 230 8 104 126 BAObbg23.02 BAP018 230 6 122 143 BAObbg23.03 BAP018 230 7 148 174 BAObbg23.04 BAP018 230 2 170 195 BAObbg24.02 BAP019 231 15 91 115 BAObbg24.03 BAP019 231 13 111 135 BAObbg24.04 BAP019 231 5 377 400 BAObbg24.05 BAP019 231 13 396 419 BAObbg24.06 BAP019 231 3 532 553 BAObbg24.07 BAP019 231 3 548 569 BAObbg24.08 BAP019 231 2 715 744 BAObbg24.09 BAP019 231 4 740 768 BAObbg33.01 BAP021 233 7 3 27 BAObbg33.02 BAP021 233 7 23 47 BAObbg33.03 BAP021 233 2 43 68 BAObbh09.02 BAP022 234 2 118 141 BAObbh09.03 BAP022 234 8 137 160 BAObbh09.05 BAP022 234 1 521 545 BAObbh13.01 BAP021 233 4 4 30 BAObbh13.02 BAP021 233 6 26 52 BAObbh13.03 BAP021 233 3 48 75 BAObbj41.01 BAP023 235 5 61 84 BAObbj41.02 BAP023 235 8 80 103 BAObbj41.03 BAP023 235 1 99 122 BAObbl06.01 BAP025 237 5 20 43 BAObbl06.02 BAP025 237 17 39 62 BAObbl06.03 BAP025 237 4 95 122 BAObbl06.04 BAP025 237 16 117 143 BAObbn15.01 BAP028 240 11 195 219 BAObbn15.02 BAP028 240 10 215 239 BAObbn15.03 BAP028 240 8 235 259 BAObbo34.02 BAP030 242 2 27 54 BAObbo40.01 BAP029 241 5 197 217 BAObbo40.02 BAP029 241 3 213 232 BAObbp28.01 BAP032 244 1 48 73 BAObbp28.02 BAP032 244 2 69 94 BAObbp28.03 BAP032 244 1 90 114 BAObbq13.01 BAP025 237 2 133 159 BAObbq13.02 BAP025 237 7 155 181 BAObbq32.01 BAP034 246 1 14 41 BAObbq32.02 BAP034 246 2 37 63 BAObbq34.02 BAP043 255 17 29 52 BAObbq34.03 BAP043 255 9 48 70 BAObbr27.01 BAP026 238 9 1 29 BAObbr27.02 BAP026 238 5 24 53 BAObbr27.03 BAP026 238 3 49 76 BAObbr35.01 BAP036 248 17 1 21 BAObbr35.02 BAP036 248 17 17 44 BAObbr42.01 BAP031 243 2 122 149 BAObbr42.02 BAP031 243 2 145 172 BAObbs36.01 BAP037/8 249 1 3 27 BAObbs36.02 BAP037/8 249 11 23 47 BAObbs36.03 BAP037/8 249 2 43 66 BAObbs36.04 BAP037/8 249 1 62 85 BAObbs36.05 BAP037/8 249 1 136 165 BAObbs36.06 BAP037/8 249 17 156 185 BAObbs36.07 BAP037/8 249 0 81 107 BAObbs36.08 BAP037/8 249 8 103 129 BAObbs41.01 BAP031 243 8 160 186 BAObbs41.02 BAP031 243 6 182 208 BAObbs42.01 BAP045 257 20 27 51 BAObbs42.02 BAP045 257 10 47 72 BAObg0061.01 BA0060 136 10 177 191 BAObga26.01 BAP039 251 4 27 51 BAObga26.02 BAP039 251 7 47 71 BAObga26.03 BAP039 251 5 67 91 BAObgp001.01 BAP035 247 5 7 30 BAObgp001.02 BAP035 247 8 26 49 BAObgp001.03 BAP035 247 3 45 69 BAObgp001.04 BAP035 247 9 65 89 BAObgp003.01 BAP020 232 9 126 137 BAObgp022.01 BAP040 252 2 22 43 BAObgp022.02 BAP040 252 8 39 60 BAObgp022.03 BAP040 252 10 56 78 BAObgp027.01 BAP015 227 7 693 718 BAObgp027.02 BAP015 227 6 714 739 BAObgp027.03 BAP015 227 3 438 460 BAObgp027.04 BAP015 227 1 456 477 BAObgp027.05 BAP015 227 10 473 495 BAObgp027.06 BAP015 227 3 806 828 BAObgp027.07 BAP015 227 9 824 846 BAObgp027.08 BAP015 227 11 616 640 BAObgp027.09 BAP015 227 7 636 659 BAObgp027.10 BAP015 227 9 655 678 BAObgp027.11 BAP015 227 8 674 697 BAObgp027.12 BAP015 227 8 576 598 BAObgp027.13 BAP015 227 5 594 615 BAObgp027.14 BAP015 227 7 611 632 BAObgp027.15 BAP015 227 6 851 877 BAObgp027.16 BAP015 227 8 873 898 BAObgp027.17 BAP015 227 9 731 760 BAObgp027.18 BAP015 227 10 756 784 BAObgp027.19 BAP015 227 2 3 27 BAObgp027.20 BAP015 227 5 23 48 BAObgp027.21 BAP015 227 3 957 982 BAObgp027.22 BAP015 227 18 978 1002 BAObgp036.01 BAP041 253 14 157 182 BAObgp036.02 BAP041 253 5 178 203 BAObgp036.03 BAP041 253 5 199 224 BAObgp036.04 BAP041 253 4 220 246 BAObgp085.01 BAP042 254 13 70 94 BAObgp085.02 BAP042 254 2 90 113 BAObgp096.01 BAP001 213 19 20 44 BAObgp096.02 BAP001 213 7 40 64 BAObgp096.03 BAP001 213 16 60 84 BAObgp096.04 BAP001 213 5 80 104 BAObgp096.05 BAP001 213 4 138 162 BAObgp096.06 BAP001 213 14 158 182 BAObgp096.07 BAP001 213 6 178 201 BAObgp321.01 BAP044 256 13 1 25 BAObgp321.02 BAP044 256 17 21 45 BAObgp321.03 BAP044 256 17 41 65 BAObgp43.01 BAP027 239 3 121 143 BAObgp43.02 BAP027 239 12 139 160 BAObgp43.03 BAP027 239 19 156 178 BAOflaA.01 BA0663 196 17 12 39 BAOflaA.02 BA0663 196 2 35 62 BAOflaA.03 BA0663 196 8 58 84 BAOflaA.05 BA0663 196 16 175 197 BAOflaB.01 BA0149 146 12 18 42 BAOflaB.02 BA0149 146 3 38 62 BAOflaB.03 BA0149 146 2 58 82 BAOflaB.04 BA0149 146 15 78 102 BAOflaB.05 BA0149 146 2 98 122 BAOflaB.06 BA0149 146 4 118 142 BAOflaB.07 BA0149 146 5 138 165 BAOflaB.08 BA0149 146 1 256 279 BAOflaB.09 BA0149 146 6 275 297 BAOflaB.10 BA0149 146 1 293 315 BAOflaB.11 BA0149 146 9 163 189 BAOflaB.12 BA0149 146 12 185 211 BAOflaB.13 BA0149 146 14 207 233 BAOflaB.14 BA0149 146 1 229 255 BAOfliD.02 BA0150 147 3 46 75 BAOfliD.03 BA0150 147 2 110 131 BAOfliD.04 BA0150 147 4 127 148 BAOfliD.05 BA0150 147 7 188 216 BAOfliD.06 BA0150 147 1 212 240 BAOfliD.07 BA0150 147 1 344 367 BAOfliD.08 BA0150 147 5 361 384 BAOfliD.09 BA0150 147 3 382 405 BAOfliD.10 BA0150 147 1 401 424 BAOfliG-1.01 BA0221 154 9 151 180 BAOfliG-1.02 BA0221 154 7 176 205 BAOfliG-1.03 BA0221 154 10 245 274 BAOfliG-1.04 BA0221 154 16 270 299 BAOlmp1.01 BA0210 152 6 937 962 BAOlmp1.02 BA0210 152 4 958 983 BAOlmp1.03 BA0210 152 2 102 130 BAOlmp1.04 BA0210 152 1 126 154 BAOlmp1.05 BA0210 152 2 150 177 BAOlmp1.06 BA0210 152 2 823 849 BAOlmp1.07 BA0210 152 2 845 872 BAOlmp1.08 BA0210 152 3 867 892 BAOlmp1.09 BA0210 152 2 285 314 BAOlmp1.10 BA0210 152 5 310 339 BAOlmp1.11 BA0210 152 3 335 364 BAOomp.01 BAP033 245 3 97 119 BAOomp.02 BAP033 245 4 115 137 BAOomp.03 BAP033 245 1 133 155 BAOomp.04 BAP033 245 5 151 173 BAOoppA-2.01 BA0327 161 2 20 43 BAOoppA-2.02 BA0327 161 1 39 62 BAOoppA-2.03 BA0327 161 1 58 79 BAOoppA-2.04 BA0327 161 9 69 94 BAOoppA-2.05 BA0327 161 3 90 115 BAOoppA-2.06 BA0327 161 4 167 189 BAOoppA-2.07 BA0327 161 11 185 207 BAOoppA-2.08 BA0327 161 14 203 224 BAOoppA-2.09 BA0327 161 9 296 320 BAOoppA-2.10 BA0327 161 9 316 339 BAOoppA-2.11 BA0327 161 10 335 358 BAOoppA-2.12 BA0327 161 9 354 377 BAOoppA-2.13 BA0327 161 10 404 431 BAOoppA-2.14 BA0327 161 8 427 453 BAOoppA-2.15 BA0327 161 15 449 475 BAOoppA-2.16 BA0327 161 16 471 498 BAOoppA-2.17 BA0327 161 9 494 521 BAOoppA-3.01 BA0329 162 1 40 62 BAOoppA-3.03 BA0329 162 1 76 97 BAOoppA-3.04 BA0329 162 1 251 276 BAOoppA-3.05 BA0329 162 15 272 297 BAOoppA-3.06 BA0329 162 17 291 316 BAOoppA-3.08 BA0329 162 1 333 358 BAOoppA-4.01 BAP006 218 16 335 360 BAOoppA-4.02 BAP006 218 6 356 381 BAOoppA-4.03 BAP006 218 2 422 446 BAOoppA-4.04 BAP006 218 6 442 465 BAOoppA-4.05 BAP006 218 1 461 484 BAOp35.03 BAP024 236 1 46 69 BAOp35.04 BAP024 236 11 65 88 BAOp35.05 BAP024 236 11 84 107 BAOp35.07 BAP024 236 1 124 149 BAOp35.10 BAP024 236 4 186 211 BAOp35.11 BAP024 236 13 207 232 BAOp35.12 BAP024 236 12 265 294 BAOp35.13 BAP024 236 1 290 318 BAOp66.02 BA0596 188 2 56 80 BAOp66.03 BA0596 188 1 76 100 BAOp66.04 BA0596 188 16 96 119 BAOp66.05 BA0596 188 3 343 371 BAOp66.06 BA0596 188 4 367 394 BAOp66.07 BA0596 188 3 410 436 BAOp66.08 BA0596 188 1 432 457 BAOp83.03 BA0737 202 2 281 307 BAOp83.13 BA0737 202 1 631 654 BAOpbp-1.01 BA0135 145 10 41 66 BAOpbp-1.02 BA0135 145 9 62 86 BAOpbp-1.03 BA0135 145 2 82 106 BAOpbp-1.04 BA0135 145 3 102 126 BAOpbp-1.05 BA0135 145 2 417 444 BAOpbp-1.06 BA0135 145 2 440 466 BAOpbp-1.07 BA0135 145 6 528 554 BAOpbp-1.08 BA0135 145 18 550 575 BAOpbp-1.09 BA0135 145 3 571 596 The “Sum” represents the number of sera, for which the OD405nm measurement was at least 0.05 OD units above the blank without coating. “From aa” and “To aa” denotes the position of the peptide relative to the full length protein as listed under the respective sequence identification number (Seq ID). ELISA experiments were preformed with peptides derived from B. burgdorferi s.l. and 22 human sera (P1755, P1766, P1772, P1806, P1811, P3055, P3144, P3186, P3219, P3017, P3084, P3288, P3150, P3301, P3344, P3394, P3183, P3336, P1789, P1796, P1938, P1941).

TABLE 7 Table 7: FACS analysis with epitope sera generated in mice. Seq ID Injection ORF (Protein) name FACS BA0056 135 Baf28 91% Baf29 90% BA0135 145 Baf22 75% BA0149 146 Baf11 60% Baf12 46% BA0150 147 Baf23 23% Baf24 43% BA0181 149 Baf36 62% BA0210 152 Baf1 36% Baf2 80% BA0221 154 Baf26 87% BA0237 156 Baf15 28% BA0283 157 Baf37 62% BA0327 161 Baf18 77% Baf19 58% BA0329 162 Baf34 25% BA0469 177 Baf108 20% BA0507 179 Baf39 21% BA0596 188 Baf40 30% Baf41 27% BA0605 190 Baf42 45% BA0619 192 Baf30 24% BA0653 195 Baf43 48% BA0737 202 Baf16 83% BA0767 207 Baf121 27% BA0790 210 Baf48 67% BAP006 218 Baf25 30% BAP015 227 Baf6 76% Baf8 21% BAP019 231 Baf4 64% Baf5 86% BAP021 233 Baf143 26% BAP022 234 Baf50 28% BAP024 236 Baf13 96% BAP025 237 Baf75 22% BAP030 242 Baf52 22% BAP033 245 Baf32 74% BAP034 246 Baf53 39% BAP035 247 Baf125 20% BAP037/ 249 Baf10 86% BAP038 250 The epitope specific antibodies in mice sera were tested in FACS analysis for binding to the surface of B. afzelii strain K78 cells. The sera that showed a significant shift in FACS analysis are listed. The percentage indicates the number of cells that showed a shift in the FACS analysis in comparison to cells incubated without immune sera.

TABLE 8 Table 8: Expressed and purified proteins tested in animals. amino acid Amino SEQ acid Ba ID Mw Protein From- Purification ORF NO: Common name Motifs (kDa) Construct To status BA0056 135 hypothetical protein BB 76.5 BB0058-1 91-415 Insoluble BA0210 152 surface-located SP 128.2 Bbu0210-1 27-246 Soluble membrane protein 1 (lmp1) BA0210 152 surface-located SP 128.2 Bbu0210-2 701-1067 Insoluble membrane protein 1 (lmp1) BA0221 154 flagellar motor switch 47.9 Baf0221  1-408 Insoluble protein (fliG-1) BA0237 156 hypothetical protein SP 30.5 Baf0237 21-257 Insoluble BA0507 179 hypothetical protein 254.2 Baf0512-2 399-870  Insoluble BA0581 187 pfs protein (pfs-2) SP 29.2 Baf0581 22-264 Insoluble BA0605 190 ATP-dependent Clp 47.7 Baf0627  1-430 Insoluble protease, subunit X (clpX) BA0675 198 methyl-accepting SP 84.7 Bbu0680-2 391-753  Insoluble chemotaxis protein (mcp-4) BA0790 210 hypothetical protein BB, 168.9 BB0794-3 979-1467 Insoluble SP BAP006 218 oligopeptide ABC LP 61.1 BbuA0034-1 251-528  Insoluble transporter, periplasmic oligopeptide-binding protein (oppAV) The table lists the expressed and purified proteins which were tested in the Borrelia animal model. Ba: Borrelia afzelii, ORF: open reading frame, BB: beta barrel, SP: signal peptide, LP: signal peptide for lipidation, Mw: molecular weight, kDa: kilo Dalton.

TABLE 9 Table 9: Most probable number of cells (from Norman, R. L. and Kempe, L. L., 1960). Positive 10; 1; 0.1 MPN^(#) 95% CL 8 8 7 208 80.9-535  8 8 6 139 54.1-357  8 8 5 98.2 38.2-252  8 8 4 70.2 27.3-180  8 8 3 51.0 19.8-131  8 8 2 38.5 15.0-98.9 8 8 1 30.1 11.7-77.4 8 8 0 24.0 9.34-61.7 8 7 8 59.6 23.2-153  8 7 7 50.8 19.8-131  8 7 6 43.3 16.8-111  8 7 5 36.9 14.4-94.8 8 7 4 31.4 12.2-80.7 8 7 3 26.7 10.4-68.6 8 7 2 22.6 8.79-58.1 8 7 1 19.1 7.43-49.1 8 7 0 15.9 6.19-40.9 8 6 6 28.4 11.1-73.0 8 6 5 25.0 9.73-64.3 8 6 4 21.8 8.48-56.0 8 6 3 18.9 7.35-48.6 8 6 2 16.3 6.34-41.9 8 6 1 13.8 5.37-35.5 8 6 0 11.5 4.47-29.6 8 5 5 18.9 7.35-48.6 8 5 4 16.6 6.46-42.7 8 5 3 14.4 5.60-37.0 8 5 2 12.3 4.79-31.6 8 5 1 10.3 4.01-26.5 8 5 0 8.42 3.28-21.6 8 4 5 14.8 5.76-38.0 8 4 4 13.0 5.06-33.4 8 4 3 11.1 4.32-28.5 8 4 2 9.40 3.66-24.2 8 4 1 7.74 3.01-19.9 8 4 0 6.22 2.42-16.0 8 3 5 11.8 4.59-30.3 8 3 4 10.2 3.97-26.2 8 3 3 8.67 3.37-22.3 8 3 2 7.18 2.79-18.5 8 3 1 5.82 2.26-15.0 8 3 0 4.67 1.82-12.0 8 2 4 8.07 3.14-20.7 8 2 3 6.72 2.61-17.3 8 2 2 5.50 2.14-14.1 8 2 1 4.45 1.73-11.4 8 2 0 3.62 1.41-9.30 8 1 3 5.22 2.03-13.4 8 1 2 4.27 1.66-11.0 8 1 1 3.50 1.36-9.00 8 1 0 2.87 1.12-7.38 8 0 2 3.38 1.32-8.69 8 0 1 2.80 1.09-7.20 8 0 0 2.31 0.90-5.94 7 7 1 5.47 2.13-14.1 7 7 0 4.84 1.88-12.4 7 6 2 5.30 2.06-13.6 7 6 1 4.71 1.83-12.1 7 6 0 4.15 1.61-10.7 7 5 2 4.58 1.78-11.8 7 5 1 4.04 1.57-10.4 7 5 0 3.55 1.38-9.12 7 4 3 4.46 1.74-11.5 7 4 2 3.95 1.54-10.2 7 4 1 3.47 1.35-8.92 7 4 0 3.04 1.18-7.81 7 3 3 3.86 1.50-9.92 7 3 2 3.40 1.32-8.74 7 3 1 2.98 1.16-7.66 7 3 0 2.59 1.01-6.66 7 2 3 3.33 1.30-8.56 7 2 2 2.92 1.14-7.50 7 2 1 2.55 0.99-6.55 7 2 0 2.20 0.86-5.65 7 1 3 2.87 1.12-7.38 7 1 2 2.51 0.98-6.45 7 1 1 2.17 0.84-5.58 7 1 0 1.86 0.72-4.78 7 0 2 2.14 0.83-5.50 7 0 1 1.83 0.71-4.70 7 0 0 1.55 0.60-3.98 6 6 1 3.08 1.20-7.92 6 6 0 2.77 1.08-7.12 6 5 1 2.73 1.06-7.02 6 5 0 2.44 0.95-6.27 6 4 2 2.96 1.05-6.91 6 4 1 2.41 0.94-6.19 6 4 0 2.14 0.83-5.50 6 3 2 2.38 0.93-6.12 6 3 1 2.11 0.82-5.42 6 3 0 1.86 0.72-4.78 6 2 2 2.09 0.81-5.37 6 2 1 1.84 0.72-4.73 6 2 0 1.60 0.62-4.11 6 1 2 1.82 0.71-4.68 6 1 1 1.58 0.61-4.06 6 1 0 1.35 0.53-3.47 6 0 2 1.56 0.61-4.01 6 0 1 1.34 0.52-3.44 6 0 0 1.13 0.44-2.90 5 5 1 2.07 0.81-5.32 5 5 0 1.85 0.72-4.75 5 4 1 1.84 0.72-4.73 5 4 0 1.63 0.63-4.19 5 3 2 1.82 0.71-4.68 5 3 1 1.61 0.63-4.14 5 3 0 1.41 0.55-3.62 5 2 2 1.60 0.62-4.11 5 2 1 1.40 0.54-3.60 5 2 0 1.21 0.47-3.11 5 1 2 1.39 0.54-3.57 5 1 1 1.20 0.47-3.08 5 1 0 1.01 0.39-2.60 5 0 2 1.19 0.46-3.06 5 0 1 1.01 0.39-2.60 5 0 0 0.83 0.32-2.13 4 4 0 1.28 0.50-3.29 4 3 1 1.27 0.49-3.26 4 3 0 1.10 0.43-2.83 4 2 1 1.09 0.42-2.80 4 2 0 0.93 0.36-2.39 4 1 2 1.08 0.42-2.78 4 1 1 0.92 0.36-2.36 4 1 0 0.76 0.30-1.95 4 0 2 0.91 0.35-2.34 4 0 1 0.75 0.29-1.93 4 0 0 0.60 0.23-1.54 3 4 0 1.01 0.39-2.60 3 3 1 1.00 0.39-2.57 3 3 0 0.85 0.33-2.18 3 2 1 0.85 0.33-2.18 3 2 0 0.70 0.27-1.80 3 1 2 0.84 0.33-2.16 3 1 1 0.70 0.27-1.80 3 1 0 0.56 0.22-1.44 3 0 2 0.69 0.27-1.77 3 0 1 0.55 0.21-1.41 3 0 0 0.41 0.16-1.05 2 4 0 0.79 0.31-2.03 2 3 1 0.79 0.31-2.03 2 3 0 0.66 0.26-1.70 2 2 1 0.65 0.25-1.67 2 2 0 0.52 0.20-1.34 2 1 1 0.52 0.20-1.34 2 1 0 0.39 0.15-1.00 2 0 2 0.51 0.20-1.31 2 0 1 0.38 0.15-0.98 2 0 0 0.26 0.10-0.67 1 3 0 0.49 0.19-1.26 1 2 1 0.49 0.19-1.26 1 2 0 0.36 0.14-0.93 1 1 1 0.36 0.14-0.93 1 1 0 0.24 0.09-0.62 1 0 2 0.36 0.14-0.93 1 0 1 0.24 0.09-0.62 1 0 0 0.12 0.05-0.31 0 2 0 0.23 0.09-0.59 0 1 1 0.23 0.09-0.59 0 1 0 0.11 0.04-0.28 0 0 1 0.11 0.04-0.28

This table shows the most probable number of cells (MPN^(#)) with 95% confidence limits (95% CL). The most probable number of bacteria is read from the table by comparing the number of wells with live bacteria (Positive) for the different dilutions with the entries in the table. The MPN is the number of cells at the lowest dilution (10 cells/well).

TABLE 10 Table 10: Protection in mice. Ani- mal % Noninfected mice Ex- Chal- Test peri- lenge Protein Protein PBS OspA ment Dose Construct WB C WB C WB C 1 nd Bbu0210-1 50% 50% 20% 20% 100% 100% Bbu0210-2 40% 40% Baf0221 40% 40% Baf0237 30% 30% Baf0512-2 30% 30% Baf0627 30% 30% Bbu0680-2 30% 30% BbuA0034-1 60% 60% 2 18900 BB0058-1 nd 10%  0% 0%  70% 70% Baf0581 nd 10% 3 16300 BB0794-3 nd 10% nd 0% nd 60%

The table shows the level of protection achieved after immunisation with Borrelia antigens against a challenge with B. burgdorferi s.s. strain N40. Borrelia infection of mice was determined with Western blot (WB) of post-challenge sera and cultivation of Borrelia from ear and bladder (C). The percentages of uninfected mice are listed in the table for the test antigens and the control groups in the respective animal experiment. nd: not determined.

EXAMPLES Example 1 General Screening Procedure for the Identification of the Peptides According to the Present Invention

The approach, which has been employed for the present invention, is based on the interaction of proteins or peptides encoded by B. burgdorferi s.l. with the antibodies present in human sera. The antibodies produced against B. burgdorferi s.l. by the human immune system and present in human sera are indicative of the in vivo expression of the antigenic proteins and their immunogenicity. In addition, the antigenic proteins as identified by the bacterial surface display expression libraries using pools of pre-selected sera, are processed in a second and third round of screening by individual selected or generated sera. Thus the present invention supplies an efficient, relevant, comprehensive set of antigens as a pharmaceutical composition, especially a vaccine preventing infections caused by B. burgdorferi s.l.

In the antigen identification program for identifying a comprehensive set of antigens according to the present invention, at least two different bacterial surface expression libraries from B. burgdorferi s.l. are screened with several serum pools or plasma fractions or other pooled antibody containing body fluids (antibody pools). The antibody pools are derived from a serum collection, which has been tested against antigenic compounds of B. burgdorferi s.l., such as whole cell, total extracts. Preferably, six pools of sera (with 25 individual samples) are used. Sera determined to have high ELISA titre have to react with multiple proteins in immunoblotting in order to be considered hyperimmune and therefore relevant in the screening method applied for the present invention.

The expression libraries as used in the present invention should allow expression of all potential antigens, e.g. derived from all secreted and surface proteins of B. burgdorferi s.l. Bacterial surface display libraries will be represented by a recombinant library of a bacterial host displaying a (total) set of expressed peptide sequences of B. burgdorferi s.l. on two selected outer membrane proteins (LamB and FhuA) at the bacterial host membrane (Georgiou, G., 1997; Etz, H. et al., 2001). One of the advantages of using recombinant expression libraries is that the identified hyperimmune serum-reactive antigens may be instantly produced by expression of the coding sequences of the screened and selected clones expressing the hyperimmune serum-reactive antigens without further recombinant DNA technology or cloning steps necessary.

The comprehensive set of antigens identified by the described program according to the present invention is analysed further by one or more additional rounds of screening. Therefore individual antibody preparations or antibodies generated against selected peptides, which were identified as immunogenic are used. According to a preferred embodiment the individual antibody preparations for the second round of screening are derived from healthy adults and/or challenged adults who show an antibody titre above a certain minimum level, for example an antibody titre being higher than 80 percentile, preferably higher than 90 percentile, especially higher than 95 percentile of the human (patient or healthy individual) sera tested. Using such high titre individual antibody preparations in the second screening round allows a very selective identification of the hyperimmune serum-reactive antigens and fragments thereof from B. burgdorferi s.l.

Following the comprehensive screening procedure, the selected antigenic proteins, expressed as recombinant proteins or in vitro translated products, in case it can not be expressed in prokaryotic expression systems, or the identified antigenic peptides (produced synthetically) are tested in a second screening by a series of ELISA and Western blotting assays for the assessment of their immunogenicity with a large human serum collection (minimum ˜20 healthy and patients sera).

It is important that the individual antibody preparations (which may also be the selected serum) allow a selective identification of the most promising candidates of all the hyperimmune serum-reactive antigens from all the promising candidates from the first round. Therefore, preferably at least 10 individual antibody preparations (i.e. antibody preparations (e.g. sera) from at least 10 different individuals suffered from an infection to the chosen pathogen) should be used in identifying these antigens in the second screening round. Of course, it is possible to use also less than 10 individual preparations, however, selectivity of the step may not be optimal with a low number of individual antibody preparations. On the other hand, if a given hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen (or an antigenic fragment thereof) is recognized by at least 10 individual antibody preparations, preferably at least 30, especially at least 50 individual antibody preparations, identification of the hyperimmune serum-reactive antigen is also selective enough for a proper identification. Hyperimmune serum-reactivity may of course be tested with as many individual preparations as possible (e.g. with more than 100 or even with more than 1,000).

Therefore, the relevant portion of the hyperimmune serum-reactive antibody preparations according to the method of the present invention should preferably be at least 10, more preferred at least 30, especially at least 50 individual antibody preparations. Alternatively (or to in combination) hyperimmune serum-reactive antigens may preferably be also identified with at least 20%, preferably at least 30%, especially at least 40% of all individual antibody preparations used in the second screening round.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sera from which the individual antibody preparations for the second round of screening are prepared (or which are used as antibody preparations), are selected by their titre against B. burgdorferi s.l. (e.g. against a preparation of these pathogens, such as a lysate, cell wall components and recombinant proteins). Preferably, some are selected with an IgG titre above 1,000 U, especially above 5,000 U (U=units, calculated from the OD405 nm reading at a given dilution) when the whole organism (total lysate or whole cells) is used as antigen in the ELISA.

The antibodies produced against B. burgdorferi s.l. by the human immune system and present in human sera are indicative of the in vivo expression of the antigenic proteins and their immunogenicity. The recognition of linear epitopes recognized by serum antibodies can be based on sequences as short as 4-5 amino acids. Of course it does not necessarily mean that these short peptides are capable of inducing the given antibody in vivo. For that reason the defined epitopes, polypeptides and proteins are further to be tested in animals (mainly in mice) for their capacity to induce antibodies against the selected proteins in vivo.

The preferred antigens are located on the cell surface or secreted, and are therefore accessible extracellularly. Antibodies against cell wall proteins are expected to serve multiple purposes: to inhibit adhesion, to interfere with nutrient acquisition, to inhibit immune evasion and to promote phagocytosis (Hornef, M. et al., 2002). Antibodies against secreted proteins are beneficial in neutralisation of their function as toxin or virulence component. It is also known that bacteria communicate with each other through secreted proteins. Neutralizing antibodies against these proteins will interrupt growth-promoting cross-talk between or within infection causing pathogen species. Bioinformatic analyses (signal sequences, cell wall localisation signals, transmembrane domains) proved to be very useful in assessing cell surface localisation or secretion. The experimental approach includes the isolation of antibodies with the conesponding epitopes and proteins from human serum, and the generation of immune sera in mice against (poly) peptides selected by the bacterial surface display screens. These sera are then used in a third round of screening as reagents in at least one of the following assays: cell surface staining of B. burgdorferi s.l. grown under different conditions (FACS or microscopy), determination of neutralizing capacity (toxin, adherence), and promotion of opsonization and phagocytosis (in vitro phagocytosis assay).

For that purpose, bacterial E. coli clones are directly injected into mice and immune sera are taken and tested in the relevant in vitro assay for functional opsonic or neutralizing antibodies. Alternatively, specific antibodies may be purified from human or mouse sera using peptides or proteins as substrate.

According to the antigen identification method used herein, the present invention can surprisingly provide a set of comprehensive novel nucleic acids and novel proteins, antigens and more specifically hyperimmune serum reactive antigens and fragments thereof of B. burgdorferi s.l., among other things, as described herein. The nucleotide sequences according to the present invention encoding hyperimmune serum reactive antigens have a nucleotide sequence which is individually set forth in Seq ID Nos 1-134, 269-387 and 507-628, whereby the conesponding encoded amino acid sequences have an amino acid sequence as set forth in Seq ID Nos 135-268, 388-506 and 629-750.

All linear hyperimmune serum reactive fragments of a particular antigen may be identified by analysing the entire sequence of the protein antigen by a set of peptides overlapping by 1 amino acid with a length of at least 10 amino acids. Subsequently, non-linear epitopes can be identified by analysis of the protein antigen with hyperimmune sera using the expressed full-length protein or domain polypeptides thereof. Assuming that a distinct domain of a protein is sufficient to form the 3D structure independent from the native protein, the analysis of the respective recombinant or synthetically produced domain polypeptide with hyperimmune serum would allow the identification of conformational epitopes within the individual domains of multi-domain proteins. For those antigens where a domain possesses linear as well as conformational epitopes, competition experiments with peptides corresponding to the linear epitopes may be used to confirm the presence of conformational epitopes.

Example 2 Characterization and Selection of Human Serum Sources Based on Anti-B. Burgdorferi s.l. Antibodies, Preparation of Antibody Screening Reagents Experimental Procedures Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).

ELISA plates (Maxisorb, Millipore) were coated with 5-10 μg/ml total protein diluted in coating buffer (0.1 M sodium carbonate pH 9.2). For whole cell ELISA, 10⁶ biotin-labelled and fixed bacteria were added to Streptavidin-coated ELISA plates. Two dilutions of sera (10,000×, 50,000×) were made in PBS-BSA. Highly specific Horse Radish Peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated anti-human IgG secondary antibodies (Southern Biotech) were used according to the manufacturer's recommendations (dilution: 1,000×). Antigen-antibody complexes were quantified by measuring the conversion of the substrate (ABTS) to coloured product based on OD_(405nm) readings by automatic ELISA reader (TECAN SUNRISE).

Preparation of Bacterial Antigen Extracts.

Total bacterial lysate: The B. burgdorferi s.s. strain B31 and B. afzelii strain VS461 were grown for 1 week in BSK-II medium (37° C., 5% CO₂) and collected by centrifugation (3,000 rpm, 10 min, 4° C.). Cells were washed twice with PBS, and after re-suspension sonicated for 2 min, pulse 5, 100% power on ice. The supernatant was collected by centrifugation (3,500 rpm, 15 min, 4° C.). Protein concentration was measured with the Bradford assay using protein assay dye reagent concentrate (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Austria).

Immunoblotting

Total bacterial lysates were prepared from in vitro grown B. burgdorferi s.s. strain B31 and B. afzelii strain VS461. 10 to 25 μg total protein/lane was separated by SDS-PAGE using the BioRad Mini-Protean Cell electrophoresis system and proteins transferred to nitrocellulose membrane (ECL, Amersham Pharmacia). After overnight blocking in 5% milk, human sera were added at 2,000× dilution, and HRP labelled anti-human IgG was used for detection.

Purification of Antibodies for Genomic Screening

Five sera per antibody pool were selected based on the overall anti-bacterial titers for serum used in the screening procedure. Antibodies against E. coli DHSalpha proteins were removed by incubating the heat-inactivated sera with whole cell E. coli DHSalpha cells (transformed with pHIE11, grown under the same condition as used for bacterial surface display). Highly enriched preparations of IgGs from the pooled, depleted sera were generated by protein G affinity chromatography, according to the manufacturer's instructions (UltraLink Immobilized Protein G, Pierce). The efficiency of depletion and purification was checked by ELISA measurements.

Results

The antibodies produced against B. burgdorferi s.l. by the human immune system and present in human sera are indicative of the in vivo expression of the antigenic proteins and their immunogenicity. These molecules are essential for the identification of individual antigens in the approach as described in the present invention, which is based on the interaction of the specific anti-bacterial antibodies and the corresponding B. burgdorferi s.l. peptides or proteins. To gain access to relevant antibody repertoires, human sera were collected from individuals with different Lyme boneliosis symptoms and healthy exposed people. It is important to screen with antibodies from Lyme boneliosis patient with different disease manifestations, since the different B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies causing Lyme borreliosis give rise to different disease symptoms. A distinct set of sera with 1325 samples was collected from Lyme borreliosis patients in Austria and the Czech Republic.

1325 serum samples were collected and characterized for anti-B. burgdorferi s.l. antibodies by a series of immune assays. Primary characterization was done by ELISA using total bacterial lysate for B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii. Antibody titers were measured and ELISA units calculated from serum dilutions in the linear range of response. Sera were ranked based on the antibody reactivity and the highest ones were selected for further testing by immunoblotting. This analysis confirmed a high antibody reactivity of the pre-selected to sera against multiple B. burgdorferi s.l. proteins. The reactivities of the sera used for screening against bacterial lysates from B. burgdorferi s.s. are shown in FIG. 1A. The final selection of sera to be included in antibody-pools was based mainly on the presence of multiple immunogenic bands in immunoblotting experiments, representative Western blots are shown in FIGS. 1B and C. This extensive antibody characterization approach has led to the unambiguous identification of anti-B. burgdorferi s.l. hyperimmune sera.

Selected sera were included in 6 different IgG pools (3-5 sera in each pool) for antigen identification by bacterial surface display. IgG antibodies were purified from pooled sera by affinity chromatography and depleted of E. coli DH5alpha-reactive antibodies to avoid background in the bacterial surface display screens. The serum pools are representing Erythema migrans EM-IgG (P3055, P3144, P3186 and P3219), Neuroborreliosis NB-IgG (P3077, P3084, P3286, P3288 and P3337), Acrodermitis Chronica Atrophicans ACA-IgG (P3183, P3209 and P3336), Lyme arthritis LA-IgG (P3120, P3239 and P3251) and two pools generated with sera from patients with mixed symptoms LBI-IgG (P1755, P1766, P1772, P1806 and P1811) and LBII-IgG (P3016, P3150, P3301, P3344 and P3394).

Example 3 Generation of Highly Random, Frame-Selected, Small-Fragment, Genomic DNA Libraries of B. Burgdorferi s.l. Experimental Procedures Preparation of Genomic DNA.

Cells from a 400 ml bacterial culture were harvested (5,000 rpm, 20 min, room temperature), washed with 80 ml 50 mM Tris pH 7.4 and re-suspended in 10 ml 50 mM Tris pH 7.4/25% Sucrose/50 mM EDTA. The suspension was transferred to a fresh glass tube and Lysozyme (final conc.: 1.5 mg/ml) and SDS (final conc.: 2%) were added. The tube was incubated on ice for cell lysis. Proteinase K (final conc.: 0.1 mg/ml) was added and incubated for 10 min at 37° C., followed by Phenol/Chloroform (1:1) extraction, which was performed several times. A final extraction step was performed with Chloroform/Isoamylalcohol (1:24) to remove Phenol traces. The sample was treated with RNase A (final conc.: 10 μg/ml) for 1 h at room temperature and Phenol/Chloroform and Chloroform/Isoamylalcohol extractions were performed as described above. DNA in the remaining supernatant was precipitated by addition of 1/10th of the starting volume of 3 M NaAc (pH 5.3) and 2.5× of the volume of 99.5% Ethanol. After 1 h incubation at −20° C., the mixture was centrifuged (20,000 rpm, 15 min) and the pellet washed with 70% Ethanol. Finally, the pellet was dissolved in TE-Buffer.

Preparation of Small Genomic DNA Fragments.

Genomic DNA fragments were mechanically sheared into fragments ranging in size between 150 and 300 bp using a cup-horn sonicator (Bandelin Sonoplus UV 2200 sonicator equipped with a BB5 cup horn, 10 sec. pulses at 100% power output) or into fragments of size between 50 and 70 bp by mild DNase I treatment (Novagen). It was observed that sonication yielded a much tighter fragment size distribution when breaking the DNA into fragments of the 150-300 bp size range. However, despite extensive exposure of the DNA to ultrasonic wave-induced hydromechanical shearing force, subsequent decrease in fragment size could not be efficiently and reproducibly achieved. Therefore, fragments of 50 to 70 bp in size were obtained by mild DNase I treatment using Novagen's shotgun cleavage kit. A 1:20 dilution of DNase I provided with the kit was prepared and the digestion was performed in the presence of MnCl₂ in a 60 μl volume at 20° C. for 5 min to ensure double-stranded cleavage by the enzyme. Reactions were stopped with 2 μl of 0.5 M EDTA and the fragmentation efficiency was evaluated on a 2% TAE-agarose gel. This treatment resulted in total fragmentation of genomic DNA into near 50-70 bp fragments. Fragments were then blunt-ended twice using T4 DNA Polymerase in the presence of 100 μM each of dNTPs to ensure efficient flushing of the ends. Fragments were used immediately in ligation reactions or frozen at −20° C. for subsequent use.

Description of the Vectors.

The vector pMAL4.31 was constructed on a pASK-IBA backbone (Skerra, A., 1994) with the beta-lactamase (bla) gene exchanged with the Kanamycin resistance gene. In addition the bla gene was cloned into the multiple cloning site. The sequence encoding mature beta-lactamase is preceded by the leader peptide sequence of ompA to allow efficient secretion across the cytoplasmic membrane. Furthermore a sequence encoding the first 12 amino acids (spacer sequence) of mature beta-lactamase follows the ompA leader peptide sequence to avoid fusion of sequences immediately after the leader peptidase cleavage site, since e.g. clusters of positive charged amino acids in this region would decrease or abolish translocation across the cytoplasmic membrane (Kajava, A. et al., 2000). A SmaI restriction site serves for library insertion. An upstream FseI site and a downstream NotI site, which were used for recovery of the selected fragment, flank the SmaI site. The three restriction sites are inserted after the sequence encoding the 12 amino acid spacer sequence in such a way that the bla gene is transcribed in the −1 reading frame resulting in a stop codon 15 bp after the NotI site. A +1 bp insertion restores the bla ORF so that beta-lactamase protein is produced with a consequent gain of Ampicillin resistance.

The vector pMAL9.1 was constructed by cloning the lamB gene into the multiple cloning site of pEH1 (Hashemzadeh-Bonehi, L. et al., 1998). Subsequently, a sequence was inserted in lamB after amino acid 154, containing the restriction sites FseI, SmaI and Nod. The reading frame for this insertion was constructed in such a way that transfer of frame-selected DNA fragments excised by digestion with FseI and Nod from plasmid pMAL4.31 yields a continuous reading frame of lamB and the respective insert.

The vector pHIE11 was constructed by cloning the fhuA gene into the multiple cloning site of pEH1. Thereafter, a sequence was inserted in fhuA after amino acid 405, containing the restriction site FseI, XbaI and Nod. The reading frame for this insertion was chosen in a way that transfer of frame-selected DNA fragments excised by digestion with FseI and NotI from plasmid pMAL4.31 yields a continuous reading frame of fhuA and the respective insert.

Cloning and Evaluation of the Library for Frame Selection.

Genomic B. burgdorferi s.l. DNA fragments were ligated into the SmaI site of the vector pMAL4.31. Recombinant DNA was electroporated into DH10B electrocompetent E. coli cells (GIBCO BRL) and transformants plated on LB-agar supplemented with Kanamycin (50 μg/ml) and Ampicillin (50 μg/ml). Plates were incubated over night at 37° C. and colonies collected for large scale DNA extraction. A representative plate was stored and saved for collecting colonies for colony PCR analysis and large-scale sequencing. A simple colony PCR assay was used to initially determine the rough fragment size distribution as well as insertion efficiency. From sequencing data the precise fragment size was evaluated, junction intactness at the insertion site as well as the frame selection accuracy (3n+1 rule).

Cloning and Evaluation of the Library for Bacterial Surface Display.

Genomic DNA fragments were excised from the pMAL4.31 vector, containing the B. burgdorferi s.l. library with the restriction enzymes FseI and Nod. The entire population of fragments was then transferred into plasmids pMAL9.1 (LamB) or pHIE11 (FhuA), which have been digested with FseI and Nod. Using these two restriction enzymes, which recognise an 8 bp GC rich sequence, the reading frame that was selected in the pMAL4.31 vector is maintained in each of the platform vectors. The plasmid library was then transformed into E. coli DHSalpha cells by electroporation. Cells were plated onto large LB-agar plates supplemented with 50 μg/ml Kanamycin and grown over night at 37° C. at a density yielding clearly visible single colonies. Cells were then scraped off the surface of these plates, washed with fresh LB medium and stored in aliquots for library screening at −80° C.

Results Libraries for Frame Selection.

Two libraries were generated for B. afzelii strain K78 in the pMAL4.31 vector with sizes of approximately 70 and 300 bp, respectively. For each library, ligation and subsequent transformation of approximately 1 μg of pMAL4.31 plasmid DNA and 50 ng of fragmented genomic B. afzelii DNA yielded 8×10⁴ to 2×10⁵ clones after frame selection. To assess the randomness of the libraries, approximately 500 to 600 randomly chosen clones of each library were sequenced. The representative bioinformatic analysis of two libraries (LBA-50 and LBA-300) showed that of clones corresponding to these libraries only very few were present more than once. Furthermore, it was shown for the LBA-50 library that the average insert size was 51 bp, very close to the expected insert size (FIG. 2A). Regarding the LBA-300 library, the average insert size was 170 bp slightly shorter than the expected insert size (FIG. 2B).

Bacterial Surface Display Libraries.

The display of peptides on the surface of E. coli required the transfer of the inserts from the LBA-50 and the LBA-300 libraries from the frame selection vector pMAL4.31 to the display plasmids pMAL9.1 (LamB) or pHIE11 (FhuA). Genomic DNA fragments were excised by FseI and NotI restriction and ligation of 5 ng inserts with 0.1 μg plasmid DNA and subsequent transformation into DHSalpha cells resulted in 2×10⁵ to 5×10⁵ clones. The clones were scraped off the LB plates and frozen without further amplification.

Example 4 Identification of Highly Immunogenic Peptide Sequences from B. Burgdorferi s.l. using Bacterial Surface Displayed Genomic Libraries and Human Serum Experimental Procedures MACS Screening.

Approximately 2.5×10⁸ cells from a given library were grown in 5 ml LB-medium supplemented with 50 μg/ml Kanamycin for 2 h at 37° C. Expression was induced by the addition of 1 mM IPTG for 30 min Cells were washed twice with fresh LB medium and approximately 2×10⁷ cells re-suspended in 100 μl LB medium and transferred to an Eppendorf tube.

10 to 20 μg of biotinylated, human IgGs purified from serum was added to the cells and the suspension incubated overnight at 4° C. with gentle shaking. 900 μl of LB medium was added, the suspension mixed and subsequently centrifuged for 10 min at 6,000 rpm at 4° C. Cells were washed once with 1 ml LB and then re-suspended in 100 μl LB medium. 10 μl of MACS microbeads coupled to streptavidin (Miltenyi Biotech, Germany) were added and the incubation continued for 20 min at 4° C. Thereafter 900 μl of LB medium was added and the MACS microbead cell suspension was loaded onto the equilibrated MS column (Miltenyi Biotech, Germany) which was fixed to the magnet. (The MS columns were equilibrated by washing once with 1 ml 70% EtOH and twice with 2 ml LB medium.)

The column was then washed three times with 3 ml LB medium. After removal of the magnet, to cells were eluted by washing with 2 ml LB medium. After washing the column with 3 ml LB medium, the 2 ml eluate was loaded a second time on the same column and the washing and elution process repeated. The loading, washing and elution process was performed a third time, resulting in a final eluate of 2 ml.

Cells selected after two rounds of selection were plated onto LB-agar plates supplemented with 50 μg/ml Kanamycin and grown over night at 37° C.

Evaluation of Selected Clones by Sequencing and Western Blot Analysis.

Randomly selected clones were grown overnight at 37° C. in 3 ml LB medium supplemented with 50 μg/ml Kanamycin to prepare plasmid DNA using standard procedures. Sequencing was performed at MWG (Germany).

For Western blot analysis approximately 10 to 20 μg of total cellular protein was separated by 10% SDS-PAGE and blotted onto HybondC membrane (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, England). The LamB or FhuA fusion proteins were detected using human serum as the primary antibody at a dilution of approximately 1:3,000 to 1:5,000 and anti-human IgG antibodies coupled to HRP at a dilution of 1:5,000 as secondary antibodies. Detection was performed using the ECL detection kit (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, England). Alternatively, rabbit anti-FhuA or rabbit anti-LamB polyclonal immune sera were used as primary antibodies in combination with the respective secondary antibodies coupled to HRP for the detection of the fusion proteins.

Results

Screening of Bacterial Surface Display Libraries by Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (MACS) using Biotinylated Igs.

The libraries K78-LamB in pMAL9.1 and K78-FhuA in pHIE11 were screened with pools of biotinylated, human IgGs prepared from sera of Lyme borreliosis patients (P1755, P1766, P1772, P1806, P1811, P3055, P3144, P3186, P3219, P3077, P3084, P3286, P3288, P3337, P3016, P3150, P3301, P3344, P3394, P3183, P3209, P3336, P3120, P3239, P3251) (see Example 1: Preparation of antibodies from human serum). The selection procedure was performed as described under Experimental procedures. FIG. 3A shows a representative example of a screen with the K78-FhuA library and EM-IgGs. As can be seen from the colony count after the first selection cycle from MACS screening, the total number of cells recovered at the end is drastically reduced from 1×10⁷ cells to approximately 3×10⁴ cells, and the selection without antibodies showed a more pronounced reduction in cell numbers, showing that selection was dependent on B. burgdorferi s.l. specific antibodies (FIG. 3A). To evaluate the performance of the screen, 20 selected clones were picked randomly and subjected to immunoblot analysis with the screening EM-IgG pool (FIG. 3B). This analysis revealed that a majority of selected clones showed reactivity with antibodies present in the relevant serum whereas the control strain expressing FhuA without a B. afzelii specific insert did not react with the same serum. In general, the rate of reactivity was observed to lie within the range of 40 to 70%. Colony PCR analysis showed that all selected clones contained an insert in the expected size range.

Similar results were seen in screens with libraries from the other serum pools. As a second example, FIGS. 3C and D show the data obtained with the large insert K78-FhuA and the LA-IgG antibody pool. One round of MACS selection resulted in the enrichment of cells only in the presence, but not the absence of specific IgG (FIG. 3C), indicating that the selection was specific for the applied antibodies. The specific selection was then confirmed in the Western blot analysis of individual bacterial clones with the same LA-IgG antibody pool (FIG. 3D).

Subsequent sequencing of a larger number of randomly picked clones (600 to 800) from each screen led to the identification of the gene and the corresponding peptide or protein sequence that was specifically recognized by the human serum antibodies used for screening. The frequency with which a specific clone is selected reflects at least in part the abundance and/or affinity of the specific antibodies in the serum used for selection and recognizing the epitope presented by this clone. In that regard it is striking that clones derived from some ORFs (e.g. BAP001 and BAP024) were picked more than 100 times, indicating their highly immunogenic property. Table 1 summarizes the data obtained for all 12 performed screens. All clones that are presented in Table 1 have been verified by immunoblot analysis using to whole cellular extracts from single clones to show the indicated reactivity with the pool of human serum used in the respective screen. As can be seen from Table 1, distinct regions of the identified ORF are identified as immunogenic, since variably sized fragments of the proteins are displayed on the surface by the platform proteins. Since the genomic sequence of B. afzelii was not available at the time of the performance of the screens, all BLAST analyses with epitopes derived from the B. afzelii screens, have been first performed with the genomic sequence from B. burgdorferi s.s. and later with the genomic sequence from B. garinii. Table 1 displays the B. afzelii ORF names derived from a preliminary annotation of the B. afzelii K78 genome, plasmid derived ORFs are chronologically numbered.

It is further worth noticing that many of the genes identified by the bacterial surface display screens encode proteins that are attached to the surface of the bacterium. This is in accordance with the expected role of surface attached proteins in virulence of B. burgdorferi s.l.

Example 5 Gene Distribution Studies with Highly Immunogenic Proteins Identified from B. Afzelii K78 Experimental Procedures Gene Distribution of Antigens by PCR.

An ideal vaccine antigen would be an antigen that is present in all, or the vast majority of strains of the target organism to which the vaccine is directed. In order to establish whether the genes encoding the identified B. afzelii K78 antigens occur ubiquitously in the relevant strains, PCR was performed on a series of independent bacterial isolates with primers specific for the gene of interest. B. burgdorferi s.l. isolates were obtained covering the ospC types most frequently present in patients as shown in Table 3. Oligonucleotide sequences as primers were designed for all identified ORFs yielding products of approximately 1,000 bp, if possible covering all identified immunogenic epitopes. Genomic DNA of all B. burgdorferi s.l. strains was prepared as described under Example 2. PCR was performed in a reaction volume of 25 μl using Taq polymerase (1 U), 200 nM dNTPs, 10 pMol of each oligonucleotide and the kit according to the manufacturer's instructions (Invitrogen, The Netherlands). As standard, 30 cycles (1×: 5 min 95° C., 30×: 30 sec. 95° C., 30 sec. 56° C., 30 sec. 72° C., 1×4 min 72° C.) were performed, unless conditions had to be adapted for individual primer pairs.

Results

Identified genes encoding immunogenic proteins were tested by PCR for their presence in 30 different B. burgdorferi s.l. strains (Table 3). As an example, FIG. 4 shows the PCR reaction for the B. afzelii BAP004 antigen with all indicated 30 strains. As clearly visible, the gene is present in all strains analysed. All results with the selected antigens are summarized in Table 4. Importantly, some of the identified antigens are well conserved in all strains of the respective pathogen in sequence and size and are therefore novel vaccine candidates to prevent infections by B. burgdorferi s.l.

Example 6 Immunogenicity of Immune Sera Obtained from Mice Immunized with Highly Immunogenic Proteins/Peptides from B. Burgdorferi s.l. Displayed on the Surface of E. Coli Experimental Procedures

Generation of Immune Sera from Mice. E. coli clones harbouring plasmids encoding the platform protein fused to a B. afzelii K78 peptide, were grown in LB medium supplemented with 50 μg/ml Kanamycin at 37° C. Overnight cultures were diluted 1:10, grown until an OD₆₀₀ of 0.5 and induced with 0.2 mM IPTG for 2 hours. Pelleted bacterial cells were suspended in PBS buffer and disrupted by sonication on ice, generating a crude cell extract. According to the OD₆₀₀ measurement, an aliquot corresponding to 5×10⁷ cells was injected into NMRI mice i.v., followed by a boost after 2 weeks. Serum was taken 1 week after the second injection. Epitope specific antibody levels were measured by peptide ELISA.

Results Immunogenicity in Mice.

The presence of specific antibodies was determined by peptide ELISA as it is exemplified in FIG. 5, and summarized in Table 5. Ninety-nine antigens from B. burgdorferi s.l. represented by 109 different epitope regions were shown to be immunogenic in mice. These experiments confirmed the bioinformatic prediction that many of the identified epitopes/proteins are immunogenic not only in humans, but also in experimental animals.

Example 7 Validation of Peptides from B. Afzelii K78 by Peptide ELISA Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).

ELISA plates (Maxisorb, Millipore) were coated with 5-10 μg/ml total protein diluted in coating buffer (0.1 M sodium carbonate pH 9.2). Two dilutions of sera (400×, 2,000×) were made in PBS-BSA. Highly specific Horse Radish Peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated anti-human IgG secondary antibodies (Southern Biotech) were used according to the manufacturer's recommendations (dilution: 1,000×). Antigen-antibody complexes were quantified by measuring the conversion of the substrate (ABTS) to coloured product based on OD_(405nm) readings by automatic ELISA reader (TECAN SUNRISE). The measurements at 400× dilution were used for the calculation of the results as displayed in Table 6.

Results Immunogenicity in Humans.

The presence of specific antibodies in human sera was determined by peptide ELISA as summarized in Table 6. The human sera used for this analysis correspond to those that were included in the various serum pools applied for the identification of antigens by the bacterial to surface display screens. Single or multiple peptides from individual antigens from B. afzelii K78 were analysed and many of these were shown to be immunogenic in humans. It is evident that some of the selected peptides are highly reactive with many or all of the investigated human sera (e.g. BAOba0565.02 or BAOba0077.01), while others showed intermediate reactivities. For those antigens for which the selected epitope encompassed more than 30 amino acids, multiple peptides were designed with an overlap of 5 to 6 amino acids. For some of the antigens, it was observed that these multiple peptides from the same antigen showed different reactivities, further delineating the immunogenic region of the respective antigen (e.g. BA0314 or BA0546). These experiments confirmed that many of the identified epitopes/proteins are highly immunogenic in humans, indicating that they are expressed by the pathogen during infection and capable of inducing a strong immune response.

Example 8 Surface Binding to B. Burgdorferi s.l. of Immune Sera Obtained from Mice Immunized with Highly Immunogenic Proteins/Peptides from B. Afzelii K78 Displayed on the Surface of E. Coli. Experimental Procedures FACS Analysis.

The B. afzelii strain K78 was cultivated at 34° C.; the number of spirochetes was determined by dark-field microscopy and spirochetes were diluted with fresh BSK medium to a concentration of 10⁶ organisms per millilitre. Each mouse sera were diluted 1:25 with fresh BSK medium (100 μl) and heat inactivated for 30 min at 56° C. 100 μl of mouse sera is added to 100 μl (10⁵ cells) of the Borrelia suspension (sera finally 1:50 diluted). The assay suspension is gently mixed and incubated at room temperature for 1 hour. After incubation, the samples were centrifuged at 5,000 rpm for 3 min, and washed once with 1 ml PBS, 0.5% BSA. Secondary staining was done with PE conjugated anti-mouse antibody which were used according to the manufacturer's recommendations (diluted in 100 μl). Secondary staining was performed on ice for 45 min. At the end of the incubation, the samples are centrifuged at 5,000 rpm for 3 min, washed with 1 ml PBS 0.5% BSA and resuspended in 1 ml of PBS-1% paraformaldehyde. Samples were vortexed and analysed by flow cytometry.

Results

Surface Binding to B. Burgdorferi s.l. Cells.

The presence of antibodies recognising surface proteins on B. afzelii K78 were tested in FACS analysis. Thirty-two antigens represented by 40 different sera showed a significant shift in the FACS analysis compared to the buffer control (Table 7). This in vitro experiment indicates that in in vitro cultured B. burgdorferi s.l. cells 32 antigens are expressed on the surface.

Example 9 Recombinant Borrelia Antigens Induce Protective Immune Response Against a Needle Challenge of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto Experimental Procedures Cloning and Expression of Recombinant Borrelia Proteins Cloning of Genes:

The gene of interest was amplified using specific primers from genomic DNA isolated from the B. afzelii K78 by PCR. Apart from the gene specific part, the primers had restriction sites that aided in a directional cloning of the amplified PCR product. The gene annealing (specific) part of the primer ranged between 15-30 bases in length. The PCR products obtained were digested with the appropriate restriction enzymes and cloned into the pET28b (+) vector (Novagen) for His-tagged proteins. The constructs of the selected antigens are listed in Table 8. Once the recombinant plasmid was confirmed to contain the gene of interest, E. coli BL21 CodonPlus (DE3)—RIPL cells (Invitrogen) that served as expression host were transformed.

Expression and Purification of Proteins:

E. coli BL21 CodonPlus (DE3)—RIPL cells harboring the recombinant plasmid were grown into log phase in the required culture volume. Once an OD600 nm of 0.6 was reached the culture was induced with 0.5 mM IPTG for 3 hours at 37° C. The cells were harvested by centrifugation, lysed by a combination of the freeze-thaw method followed by disruption of cells with Bug-buster® (Novagen). The lysate was separated by centrifugation into soluble (supernatant) and insoluble (pellet) fractions. Depending on the location of the protein different purification strategies were applied:

-   -   A) If the His-tagged protein was in the soluble fraction,         protein purification was done by binding the supernatant to         Ni-Sepharose beads (Ni-Sepharose™ 6 Fast Flow, GE Healthcare).         Due to the presence of the hexa Histidine (6×HIS) at the C         terminus of the expressed protein, it bound to the Ni-Sepharose         while the other contaminating proteins were washed from the         column by wash buffer. The protein was eluted by 500 mM         Imidazole in 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 0.5 mM NaCl buffer at pH 7.4. The         eluate was concentrated, assayed by Bradford for protein         concentration and checked by SDS-PAGE and Western blot.     -   B) If the protein was present in the insoluble fraction the         pellet was solubilized in suitable buffer containing 8 M Urea         and applied onto the Ni-NTA column under denaturing conditions         (in buffer containing 8 M Urea) using the same materials and         procedure as mentioned above. Contaminating proteins were washed         from the column by wash buffer without urea. Refolding of the         His-tagged protein was performed while the protein was         immobilized on the Ni-NTA matrix. After renaturation, proteins         were eluted by the addition of 500 mM Imidazole. The eluate was         dialysed to remove traces of urea and concentrated if the volume         was large, checked by SDS-PAGE and measured by the Bradford         method.

Animal Protection Studies Animals:

C3H/HeN female mice (6-8 weeks) were used.

Active Immunisation, Generation of Hyper-Immune Mouse Sera:

50 μg of recombinant proteins were injected subcutaneously into female C3H/HeN mice, with Complete Freund adjuvant (CFA) as adjuvant Animals were boosted twice with the same amount of protein and Incomplete Freund adjuvant (IFA) at days 14 and 28. The published protective OspA protein antigen was used as a positive control, immunisation with adjuvant alone in PBS buffer served as negative control (PBS). Antibody titres were measured at day 35 by ELISA using the respective recombinant proteins.

Bacterial Challenge:

The Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. strain N40 freshly grown in BSK-II medium was used as challenge strain. In order to determine the viable cell numbers present in the bacterial inoculum, a cloning with limited dilution was performed. Eight aliquots of 2 ml BSK-II with theoretically either 10, 1.0 or 0.1 cells/aliquot were incubated at 34° C. and 5% CO₂, after three weeks aliquots were evaluated for the presence of live Borrelia cells by dark-field microscopy. With the result from the cloning with limited dilution the most probable number of Borrelia cells in the first dilution was taken from Table 9. 10⁴ cells were applied subcutaneous into mice. Protection by immunisation was determined by cultivation of Borrelia cells from ear and bladder in BSK-II medium and by sero-conversion as determined with Western blot (FIG. 6). Protection was expressed in percentage of the total number of uninfected animals (10 mice/group).

Western Blot:

PAGE 4-20% Tris-glycine ZOOM Gels 1 mm×IPG well (Invitrogen) were used according to the instruction manual. Borrelia lysates (25 μg/sample) were mixed with 5× reducing sample buffer and heated for 10 min at 95° C. PageRuler™ prestained protein ladder plus (MW 10-250 kDa; Fermentas, Germany) served as indicator for protein size. Proteins were separated with 160 V for approximately 70 minutes and gels were further used for Western blotting. Proteins separated by one dimensional gel electrophoresis were transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane (Hybond™ 0.45 Micron, Amersham Bioscience, England) using a semi-dry transfer system (Trans-Blot SD; BioRad, U.S.A.). Gel and membrane were assembled in a blot sandwich and blotted in Transfer buffer at 80 mA for 1 h at room temperature. Blotted proteins were visualized by Ponceau S (Sigma, Austria) staining. Non-specific binding sites were blocked by incubating membranes in 5% milk-PBS-T for one hour at room temperature. Membranes were washed three times for 15 min with PBS-T solution and subsequently incubated with first antibody solution (individual mouse sera diluted 1:1,000 with 5% milk-PBS-T) for one hour at room temperature. The membranes were washed as described above and subsequently incubated with secondary antibody solution (rabbit anti-mouse IgG-HRP from Jackson Immuno Research Laboratory Inc., U.S.A.; 1:5,000 diluted with 5% milk-PBS-T) for one hour at room temperature. Prior to detection, membranes were washed three times for 15 min with PBS-T. Signals were visualized using an ECL detection kit (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, England).

Cultivation of Borrelia from Mouse Organs:

Organs (ear and bladder) were aseptically taken from the mouse and transferred to tubes with 10 ml BSK-II medium supplemented with 400 μg/ml phosphomycin and 50 μg/ml sulfamethoxazole. The cultures were incubated for a maximum of four weeks at 34° C., 5% CO₂. Cultures were examined with dark-field microscopy for the presence of living Borrelia cells.

Results

After having established the Borrelia animal model with the virulent B. burgdorferi s.s. strain N40, the protective capabilities of the in vitro selected vaccine candidates were evaluated. Mice were immunized with recombinant antigens (Table 8) using CFA/IFA as adjuvant before challenging with the B. burgdorferi s.s. strain N40. Four weeks after the challenge sera for the determination of sero-conversion by Western blot analyses (FIG. 6) and organs for detection of live Borrelia by cultivation in BSK-II medium were taken. The correlation between sero-conversion and cultivation of Borrelia from mouse organs was 100%. Several antigens with various levels of protection were identified (Table 10) in the animal studies. The percentage of uninfected mice was compared to the negative control group, mice immunized with adjuvant alone in PBS buffer (PBS). Protective antigens are defined as those where immunisation resulted in at least one more uninfected mouse than in the PBS control group.

The observed protection of the vaccine candidates can be described as cross-protection, because the sequence of the antigens was derived from a Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies distinct from the challenge strain. The antigens were cloned from the B. afzelii to strain K78 and the challenge strain used in the animal studies was the B. burgdorferi s.s. strain N40. Therefore, higher protection levels would be expected against a challenge strain with the same genospecies, B. afzelii, as the origin of the amino acid sequence of the tested vaccine candidates.

REFERENCES

The following references which have been recited in the present specification in a truncated version are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

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The features of the present invention disclosed in the specification, the claims and/or the drawings may both separately and in any combination thereof be material for realizing the invention in various forms thereof. 

1. An isolated protein: (a) having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 161, or (b) comprising at least 95% sequence identity to the sequence set forth as SEQ ID NO:
 161. 2. The protein according to claim 1, wherein the protein is encoded by a nucleic acid molecule set forth as SEQ ID NO:
 27. 3. An isolated antigen, wherein the antigen consists of amino acids 4-21, 27-44, 85-92, 100-107, 112-118, 142-149, 161-190, 216-222, 231-238, 258-310, 317-323, 334-344, 352-359, 367-373, 380-387, 394-400, 429-441, 485-500, 20-79, 404-526, 20-43, 39-62, 58-79, 354-377, 404-431, 427-453, 449-475, 471-498, 494-521, 69-94, 90-115, 167-189, 185-207, 203-224, 296-320, 316-339 or 335-358 of SEQ ID NO:
 161. 4. An isolated protein that consists of a fragment of SEQ ID NO: 161, wherein said fragment comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: amino acids 4-21, 27-44, 85-92, 100-107, 112-118, 142-149, 161-190, 216-222, 231-238, 258-310, 317-323, 334-344, 352-359, 367-373, 380-387, 394-400, 429-441, 485-500, 20-79, 404-526, 20-43, 39-62, 58-79, 354-377, 404-431, 427-453, 449-475, 471-498, 494-521, 69-94, 90-115, 167-189, 185-207, 203-224, 296-320, 316-339 and 335-358 of SEQ ID NO: 161, and wherein said fragment is less than 527 amino acids in length.
 5. A fusion protein comprising the protein according to claim 1, further comprising a heterologous amino acid sequence.
 6. A fusion protein comprising the protein according to claim 4, further comprising a heterologous amino acid sequence.
 7. A fusion protein comprising the antigen according to claim 3, further comprising a heterologous amino acid sequence.
 8. An immunogenic composition comprising the protein according to claim
 1. 9. An immunogenic composition comprising the protein according to claim
 4. 10. An immunogenic composition comprising the antigen according to claim
 3. 11. An immunogenic composition comprising the fusion protein according to claims
 5. 12. An immunogenic composition comprising the fusion protein according to claim
 6. 13. An immunogenic composition comprising the fusion protein according to claim
 7. 